The American Sports Car That Took On The World
The Bocar XP-5 – Redeveloped By Doug Karon
Doug Karon is probably the single most knowledgeable Bocar expert in the world, he’s restored four XP-5s himself, all to a very high level.
After he sold his last Bocar he quickly regretted it, and due to the rare nature of the cars he realized it could be some time until another came up for sale. As a result, he decided to use all that he had learned to build a new Bocar that included a slew of improvements under its composite skin to improve handling, braking, and overall performance.
The car is fitted with a 383 cubic inch Chevrolet small-block V8 fitted with an Inglese 8-Stack cross-ram intake with four Weber side draught carburetors. It makes 500 bhp.
He started by developing a tubular steel chassis and then he made a new fiberglass body for the car using moulds he still had from restoring bodywork on an earlier 1959 Bocar.
Most XP-5s had VW/Porsche front suspension and a Corvette rear end which did limit their handling ability, Karon decided to go with an all new set up consisting of Mustang II front suspension and a Jaguar independent rear suspension, similar to that used on the E-Type.
The most common engine in the XP-5 was the 283 cubic inch Corvette V8 making approximately 290 bhp. Karon kept the engine in his car faithful with a Chevrolet V8, however it’s a more powerful 500 bhp 383 cubic inch Chevrolet small-block V8 fitted with an Inglese 8-Stack cross-ram intake with four Weber side draught carburetors.
Power is sent back through a T-10 four-speed manual transmission, and the car rides on adjustable coilovers on all four corners, it has Wilwood front disc brakes, inboard rear disc brakes (similar to the E-Type), and 16″ Halibrand-style knock-off wheels.
Due to that fact that only approximately 15 XP-5s were made originally it’s very rare to see one in person, and no one knows for sure how many have survived to the modern day.
The interior of the car is vastly different to the originals, Karon decided to make the car a much more comfortable place to be than the bare-bones 1950s style racer originals.
The interior fit out was done by Hot Rod Interiors by Glenn of Glendale, Arizona. It has tan vinyl upholstery with white diamond-stitched inserts, a custom center console, tan square-weave carpets, a Hurst shifter, a Classic Instruments analog clock, and a Sony CD stereo.
The car now carries the number “5” as it’s the fifth Bocar XP-5 built or restored by Doug Karon, and although this car may not technically be a Bocar original I have a feeling that company founder Bob Carnes would unreservedly love it.
If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bring a Trailer. It’s being offered for sale out of Spearfish, South Dakota.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
