Bob Sorrell was one of the most talented automotive designers and builders of the 1950s and ‘60s. Sorrell built a string of gorgeous one-off alloy bodies for both competition and the street, but he is most well remembered for his outrageous fiberglass creations. One of them is a fiberglass versions of the SR-100. He built seven fiberglass SR-100’s for customers, but only six of them actually left his shop.That one which he kept for himself, the 1954 Sorrell-Manning Special, is now available for the first time ever at public auction. The car, estimated to fetch $175,000 – $225,000 will be offered by Auctions America at its Santa Monica, California Sale.
1954 Sorrell-Manning Special
Sorrell’s SR-100, also known as the 1954 Sorrell-Manning Special, was found in a storage container in Southern California after his death. It passed through several dealers’ hands and was ultimately purchased by the current owners who commissioned a frame-off restoration. The Sorrell-Manning Special is powered by a ground-pounding Chrysler Hemi snorting through four Zenith carburetors on a genuine Briggs Cunningham intake manifold. Equipped with gorgeous Stewart-Warner gauges set in an engine-turned dash this car sizzles. Halibrand-style wheels with knock-off hubs, Dunlop tires, covered headlights, side exit exhaust, formed metal seats with bottom cushions and competition-style seatbelts, plus a hinged-at-rear body is able to raise much in the manner seen on a NHRA ‘Funny Car,’ resulting in an all-business and aesthetically pleasing presentation.
The restored Sorrell-Manning Special debuted at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2011 taking home First in Class honors. The car also was judged First in Class at the 2011 Keels and Wheels Concours d’Elegance.
