RACING TOWARD PEACE

Custom car builder, content creator and budding actress Emelia Hartford has found much-needed serenity-at very high speed.

- JESSICA P. OGILVIE

Driving north on L.A.'s 5 freeway, Emelia Hartford's glimmering teal Ferrari 458 on a Tuesday afternoon doesn't exactly blend in with the other cars. So it's unsurprising when, less than five miles from her starting point, a highway patrolman finds a reason to pull her over. He keeps her for several minutes, chatting with her through the window, then lets her leave.

An hour later, on the side of a desolate road in the San Gabriel Mountains, Hartford, who's in her late 20s, swings a denim-clad leg out of the low-slung vehicle and explains that the stop was all a misunderstanding. Plus, the cop got a little starstruck. "He recognized me," she says, "and let me go."

This is Hartford's blessing and curse. As one of a very few women in the car building and racing industries, she holds a high profile as a creator. Between YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, she has some 3.6 million followers. Fans tune in as she modifies her fleet of 12 vehicles and ride along when she takes the cars to drag strips or drifting areas to see how much speed she can get.

Lately, Hartford's followers have also seen her star rise. Along with her thriving auto career, she's taken on acting jobs and television-hosting gigs and appeared in high-profile magazines and podcasts. Sitting behind a black desk in the office of her L.A.-area shop-which currently houses two Chevrolet Corvette C8s, a big-block Ford Mustang and the now-idle Ferrari, as well as scattered bumpers, tires and tools-she takes a moment to reflect on all she's done so far.

"This is a crazy career," says Hartford. "I've been able to meet some incredible people. I'm just very thankful."