CONCEPT CORNER

BIC ANDERSON HAS BUILT SOME OF THE COOLEST CARS IN THE COUNTRY FOR CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING THIS ISSUE’S COVER CAR. HERE’S WHAT’S BREWING IN THE BACK OF HIS OWN MIND

Having spent years working on the demanding IndyCar circuit in America, Mike ‘Bic’ Anderson from Sonic Race and Machine knows a thing or two about setting up cars for maximum performance. Of course, he’s also seen inside some of the coolest workshops in the land, including Nascar legend Richard Petty’s old workshop, dyno sheds, and parts-dumping ground, of which he was lucky to have a guided tour. While clearly Bic couldn’t just help himself to everything he saw, it did get his mind spinning about the opportunities such a facility presented. When we asked Bic what his concept would be, thoughts of his adventures ran through his mind, and he pulled one out of left field. And we love it as we do all the cars Bic builds. The plan would be to take a 1944 Dodge pickup and drop it over a custom frame, complete with perfected suspension, braking, and steering, as is Bic’s speciality. However, under the hood is where the real magic would begin, with nothing other than Mopar’s most powerful ever street engine — a 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat V8. Despite the shop truck vibe, there’d of course be a paddle-shifted box backing up the 707hp engine, along with Hellcat independent rear suspension. Visually, the body would be painted to look like an old Petty Enterprises shop hack — but not before the roof had been de-crowned an inch or two. The finishing touch would be a set of 16x10-inch Aero wheels and some side pipes that tied in with the running boards and let that glorious sound of the Hellcat engine roar. Would this be the ultimate shop truck? Sure sounds like it to us!