AFTER a massive eight-year build, Al McKnight’s ’64 Mercury Comet Caliente was finished just in time for this year’s Detroit Autorama. Al built the car as an old-style racer that uses new technology, so it’s got a monster 511-cube all-alloy motor under the bonnet and a heap of other modern hardware to go with it. The seriously substantial rollcage inside tells you this thing has been built to go fast.

But it’s a racer that has had a proper show-car level of thought applied to its presentation. Despite the ’cage and extra gauges, nothing looks out of place inside, while the exterior has been beautifully restored and detailed. Check out the video as Al talks us through the car.