Jim Street’s Golden Sahara II !
The Golden Sahara II is one of the most famous custom cars of the 1960s. It featured a slew of impressive technology for the time, including internally-illuminated “glowing” tires, full remote control operation, and advanced hydraulics controlling many onboard systems.
The car started out as the already impressive Golden Sahara in the 1950s, before being reengineered into the Golden Sahara II in the early 1960s.
The Golden Sahara began life as a personal concept from Chicago businessman Jim Street, interestingly it can trace its earliest roots back to a wrecked 1953 Lincoln Capri. Mr Street purchased the remains of the car and commissioned George Barris, already a major figure in the custom car scene, to create something extraordinary.
Mr Barris was tasked not simply with a repair job, but with building a rolling showcase of futuristic automotive design and experimental technology – perfectly capturing the optimism of the late 1950s when it seemed like household robots, flying cars, and personal space travel were just over the horizon.
The car had gold-anodized trim, a lavish interior, and a hand-applied pearlescent finish reportedly made with ground fish scales for an iridescent effect.
By the early 1960s, Mr Street decided the original car needed a technological overhaul. Working again with Barris, the car was stripped down and rebuilt into the Golden Sahara II. This version pushed far beyond styling changes, incorporating features rarely seen outside aerospace or science fiction.
The body was now even more radical, it was longer, with a clear cockpit-style roof, sculpted fenders, and a dramatically reworked front end with a split grille.
The opulent cabin combined white leather upholstery with integrated television, tape recorder, and cocktail bar – features one might imagine in one of the best-selling Ian Fleming novels of the time.
Courtesy: Mecum / Klairmont Kollections Museum
