Hot Rod, Resto-Mod, or Outlaw: Is there a hierarchy of cool in car customization?

There are basically two camps when it comes to car ownership: Stock or Custom.

Stock is simple: keep or restore your prized vehicle to as close to original as possible. Custom is different. We all have an urge to personalize our passions, either so they better meet our needs and desires or to better reflect our sense of style to the world. Customization can start out simple enough. Upgrade the stereo for better sound or functionality. Maybe a window tint to cut down glare and protect the interior. New wheels and tires to improve the handling and the looks of our whips. Once you’ve made one change, the slippery slope begins!

For most of us, a few simple changes suffice. We personalize a couple of aspects of our vehicle and feel good about our practical and aesthetic choices. But for some, radical personalization or customization is the point of ownership — we are seeking to create something unique, a “one-of-one” expression of our passion. While it is all a matter of degrees, there are three main camps of car customizers:

Hot Rods: These are traditionally vehicles that start as relatively mundane conveyances, but through metal work, interior modification, amazing paintwork, and mechanical transformation, become unique expressions of the art of customization. Originating in the post-World War period, when returning servicemen began applying their service-acquired mechanical skills to whatever vehicle was available, Hot Rodding became a means of expression and even a way of life, often associated with early rock & roll and a blue-collar aesthetic, even though masterpieces of the art from shops like Chip Foose and Boyd Coddington can command 6-7 figure price tags.

Resto-Mods: A more recent phenomenon, Resto-Mods consist of taking older vehicles and restoring them to better-than-new condition, while also updating and modernizing their antique running gear (engines, transmissions, brakes, suspensions, electronics, etc.) with state-of-the-art components. This enables the owner to enjoy the experience of driving a classic, but with the power, functionality, and reliability of a modern vehicle. The current epitome of this art form is Singer Vehicle Design, and their 1990s-era Porsche 911 transformations, in which nearly every aspect of the vehicle is replaced with custom carbon fiber, custom metalwork, modern mechanical performance enhancements, and luxurious interiors. These “reimagined by Singer” Porsches have become modern classics and regularly fetch $1 million or more on the used market.

Outlaws: Finally, the Outlaw trend in car modification has deep roots in car culture, racing, and aesthetics. Outlaws have always been there, but have become generally accepted as a class of customizers since the turn of the century, primarily as a result of a community of early, air-cooled Porsche enthusiasts in southern California known as the R Gruppe and Emory Motorsports. R Gruppe members (initially an informal group that became an invitation-only community) were built around what were, at the time, cheap, old, beat-up Porsche 911s that could be heavily modified using primarily OEM parts, mixing and matching components to optimize light, analog cars suitable for “Sports-Purpose” use — aggressive on-track and back-road adrenaline-fueled fun runs. Rod Emory and his father Gary applied their creative metalworking and mechanical expertise to the early Porsche 356 series from the 1950s to the mid-60s to create masterpieces of beauty and performance that now command high six-figure price tags.

So is there a hierarchy of cool in car customization? Not really, but like all aesthetic pursuits, like music, fashion, and design, times change, and what’s considered de rigueur is constantly in flux. Just as the Brass Era carriages dominated car collecting for so long (and are still quite a vibrant part of the hobby) and were supplanted by exotic European sport cars of the 1950s-1970s, and now the super cars of this century, car modification has evolved as well. While today’s Outlaws have enjoyed a well-deserved period at the pinnacle of popularity, we’ll soon see the emergence of the next expression of our collective car passion.

Regardless of your preference for Hot Rods, Resto-Mods, or Outlaws, protect them with a small, passive to active monitoring tracking device from ASSURIoT today. Whatever the future of collecting brings, rest assured that your special vehicle is safe and sound and ready for the future of our shared passion.