A little while back we wrote about the Magnolia Special, a custom bodied, Jaguar six powered and compressed natural gas fueled pre war styled roadster being built by J.T. Nesbitt of Bienville Studios in New Orleans. The only photos we had then were of a work in progress and it looked very promising but it was still in a very unfinished state. Well, unfinished no more. The car is done and it’s a beauty.
The Jaguar engine is fitted with 12.5:1 high compression pistons along with high lift, short duration cams to make full use of the 130 octane equivalent rating of natural gas. A 5 speed transmission delivers power to a 3.00 ratio posi rear end, a ratio selected to maximize low rpm cruising capabilities. Front to back, the car looks gorgeous.
Later this year, Nesbitt plans to run the car coast to coast, New York to Los Angeles to showcase the possibilities of domestic CNG as an automotive fuel. I think it does more than that, it also showcases the work of JT Nesbitt and Bienville Studios. Beautiful work, JT!
Link: Bienville Studios
It reminds me of a very fancy Allard, which is definitely not a bad thing.