The youngest person ever to be inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame is a visionary who sculpts raw metal into works of art. His design legacy ranges from customs to street rods, and lately it seems his award mantel has as much metal as his garage. We’re honoring Chip Foose, one of the world’s premier automobile designers, with this special edition of Oakley GASCAN® eyewear.
Chip’s masterpiece Hot Rod Lincoln was dubbed the P-32 Street Fighter, so we screen printed “P-32” along with “FOOSE” inside the stem. The aluminum of the P-32 inspired frame finish, and the icons combine the military olive color of the hot rod’s interior with the orange of the Foose Design® logo.
We fired up our laser to etch “Chip” near the bottom of the lens, a subtle salute to the man who fuels the engine of innovation. We also put matching art on the packaging box, and the eyewear comes with a custom printed Chip Foose MICROCLEAR™ bag for lens cleaning and frame storage. Oakley GASCAN® combines the science of patented optics with the art of aggressive styling. The lenses are cut from the curve of a single lens shield then mounted in the frame to maintain the original, continuous contour. Peripheral vision is maximized by XYZ OPTIC®, one of the patented innovations that give HIGH DEFINITION OPTICS® (HDO®) its unbeatable clarity. Lightweight O MATTER® frame material offers all-day comfort. Impact protection meets ANSI Z87.1 standards, and our comfortable Three-Point Fit retains the lenses in precise optical alignment.
Chip Foose
Simply put, Chip Foose is one of the premier automobile design visionaries in the world and the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Hot Rod Hall of fame. Born in 1963 and raised in the Santa Barbara, California, Mr. Foose has created a legacy of designs and accomplishments that are well beyond his years.
Chip caught the “car bug” when he started working for his father and hero, Sam Foose. Chip joined his dad at his company, Project Design at age seven and never looked back. His body of work currently reads like a “Who's Who” of automotive originality and excellence.
Chip attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, graduating with honors. He was hired as Staff Designer/Fabricator for the Asha Corporation becoming the Director of Design. He continued on with Stehrenberger Design as a Designer for Baker Sportsronics creating electric prototypes and vehicles for the VFL Chip became the Managing Director and President of Hot Rods by Boyd. Looking for a challenge Chip and his wife Lynn ventured out and created Foose Design in 1998. The firm specializes in illustration, graphics, ideation model making and surfacing-along with the complete construction of automobiles and related products.
Foose’s Hot Rod Lincoln, dubbed the P-32 Street Fighter, fits that description well. “The idea,” Chip says, “Was that a fighter pilot came back from World War II, missed his war bird and made this hot rod as a tribute.”
The bullet-nose grille and shell on the P-32 are immediate visual reminders of the fighter planes of World War II. The exhaust pipes of the V12 Lincoln Zephyr motor exiting the hood sides are based on the exhaust of the famous P40 Warbird. The exterior finish on this roadster simulates the polished aluminum of these flying machines, and the cut down windscreen is framed in aluminum and Plexiglass like it’s sister aircraft.
Along with the V-12 fathead motor, other Lincoln touches on the P-32 include a 1939 Lincoln side-shifter transmission, Lincoln (Bendix style) rear brakes, and the eco-inspired 1938 Lincoln Zephyr center gauge cluster that perfectly reflects the Word War II era.
The interior is finished in olive drab to mimic zinc chromate military paint coatings. The roadster also has authentic bomber seats, exposes rivets and the P-32’s gas tanks are formed to resemble drop bombs. The period-correct bomber nose art finishes the overall theme.
