EDSEL FORD'S SPEEDSTER. . . The Speedster celebrates Edsel's eye for design that began when as a small boy he would take pen to paper to sketch cars as well as everyday objects. "My grandfather was an early believer that everyday objects - including automobiles - could be seen as works of art, " said Edsel Ford II, who unveiled the Speedster. "While he wasn't a designer in the traditional sense, his eye for styling and influence was apparent as he initiated and built the design department at Ford Motor Company. " After Edsel's death in 1943, the Speedster crisscrossed the U. S. making limited appearances, then it disappeared – some feared it had been destroyed. It was last seen when it was photographed in Hollywood in the 1950s after which it was purchased by a U. S. Navy sailor in Florida for$ 603 in 1958. It didn't appear again until Bill Warner displayed it at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in 1999. In 2008 it was sold to a Texas car collector for$ 1. 76 million, then, following the collector's untimely death in 2010, the Speedster returned to Edsel's home, now operated as an historic site called the Edsel& Eleanor Ford House. Over the years, alterations were made to its grille, engine, paint and interior - it is these alterations that have been reversed by RM Auto Restoration to take the famous car back to the 1940 design and engine --ar 16:9 --v 5 --q 2 --s 50
