Supercars are for the rich and arrogant, usually. Yet the latest story and supercar we heard about is one that will make you smile. Graham Slater is a cabinet maker by trade but recently created one of the finest supercars we have ever seen for all the right reasons.
Graham Slater started out with a 2003 Jaguar XKR as a donor car. From there through many hours of work, many technical tweaks, 54 cans of PU Foam and six layers of GFRP fiberglass a new car was born. Modeled on the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, the Lincoln Zephyer and a number of Porsches, Slater created a car that is reminiscent of supercars from the 1930s.
Slater calls his creation the Streetmachine. It still has the standard 4.3 Jaguar Liter V8 engine and reaches top speeds of 250 km/h. Slater estimates that the parts, time spent and all other expenses meant that he has invested 70,000 Euro into the car. For most men in this line of hobby, the return is simply being able to drive around such a wonderful beast. For Slater, though he needed to turn it into profit.
Graham Slater’s son has down syndrome and Slater says he needed to make money to be able to provide his son a decent standard of life. The good news is that Slater has already found a buyer. He has agreed to sell the sportscar for an amazing 143,000 Euro.
It is remarkable to think that one man who is not enough a professional car tuner could turn a standard Jaguar XKR into a 143,000 Euro supercar. The design alone would require someone with in-depth knowledge of car design and history. Add in the fact that this design required an amazing level of tuning skills and you start to look at Graham Slater as a man in the wrong profession. While we have not yet seen any of his cabinets, however good they look, he belongs in the car industry.
His reasons for altering the car though were incredible. While often supercars are associate with pompous arrogance and men who are overcompensating for a very small… brain. This man is very different he took on the passion piece for himself and his son who was born with down syndrome. A beautiful idea that will provide the much-needed funds to ensure that Slater’s son can have a good start to life and without a doubt a few happy memories for Graham as well in always being able to fondly remember the creation he made. We hope he finds the time for another creation soon.
