ONE OF A KIND

BRETT HANKINS OWNS THIS HAND-BUILT ALUMINUM-BODY WILLYS

- Mike Musto

It’s no easy task, building a car from scratch. The sheer amount of designing, measuring, cutting, and fabricating, combined with the plumbing and wiring is just too big of an undertaking for most. Brett Hankins however, isn’t most folks, and his hot rod isn’t just some car. It’s the world’s only road-legal and titled all-aluminum 1941 Willys. This street bruiser was the dream of one man and took more than four years to accomplish. For Brett, the idea was to construct something never before seen while still keeping the concept of the road-going race car alive for future generations to understand and appreciate.

“When I saw a chance to own a 1941 Willys that was all aluminum, I couldn’t pass it up. In fact, I sold a Mercedes-Benz and then borrowed the rest of the money needed to buy a bare shell. It’s always been my dream car, and being aluminum, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as there’s not another one on the planet that has been completed,” Brett says.