Here’s another great American sports car that most people have never heard of.

This is a 1954 Edwards America convertible.

Heir to a steel cable business, Sterling Edwards was a successful race-car builder and driver during the early 1950s. He first competed in his purpose-built Ford, then soon graduated to a racer he built with a "hemi" stuffed into a Henry J.

Edwards wanted to win, however, and competition from Jaguars and Ferraris, often kept him in the middle of the pack, far from the winner’s circle. Edwards soon became convinced that to win, he need a world-class car with a large and powerful engine and a sophisticated drivetain. He needed a car on par with the best cars from Europe.

So, in 1953, Edwards hired a staff and opened a factory in South San Francisco. He and his staff began to build the Edwards America.

As you can see, the Edwards America had clean, bold lines, with a massive hood housing a huge American V-8. The prototype seen here used a strengthened 100-inch Henry J chassis powered by an Oldsmobile Rocket V-8 with a Hydra-Matic transmission. To keep costs reasonable, the body was fiberglass with trim from the parts bins of various U.S. manufacturers. The taillights, for example, were from the 1952 Mercury and the headlight rings came from the 1953 Studebaker.

On subsequent cars, the Henry J frames were substituted with reinforced frames from 1950 Mercurys. The Olds engines were replaced with Lincoln and Cadillac V-8s. A well-trimmed leather interior and wire wheels added to the cars quality and image. The workmanship was comparible to the best GT cars from Europe, and soon a beautiful hardtop coupe was offered to the lineup.

Unfortnatly, the America was expensive to build. With price tags set at $8000 per car, Edwards still lost money. As is so often the story with cars like the Edwards American, very few examples were built. Unfortunately, production ended in late 1954 after only five cars, including the prototype, had been completed.