Bill Devin was a friend of mine. Even in his eighties he was incredibly sharp, had nearly flawless recall and was good for at least six hours of automotive tale-telling at a moment’s notice. His career manufacturing fiberglass sports cars and bodies ran longer than anyone in history (1954–2000) and he may just have been the very best ever in his field.
Devin built both complete turnkey cars for customers and fiberglass shells for independent constructors. His factory built two-cylinder Devin Panhards that shocked the racing scene in 1954 when they were instant front-runners in the H-Modified Class. These cars were so good that one driven by Jimmy Orr captured the SCCA National Championship in 1956. Four years later Devin built the incredibly advanced Super Sport (Devin SS). Powered by a small block Chevy, and primarily intended for the street, this swoopy tire-burner scored a Cal Club C-Modified Championship in 1959 with Pete Woods behind the wheel.
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