Beatnik Bandit

The car originally appeared as a sketch in a project for Rod & Custom magazine called "The Grapes of Roth".

[1] This early design, featuring a tall T-type roof, was drawn by Joe Henning without much input from Roth.

"[1] Another version is that Roth read a news story about a bank robber nicknamed "the Beatnik Bandit" and decided to adopt the label for his car.

[2] When Roth began building the Bandit both the design and car went through a series of changes, including the addition of the bubble top that was inspired by the glass of the DiDia 150.

[1] Construction of the car consumed 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of plaster, 42 yd (38.4 m) of fiberglass cloth, and 50 US gal (189.3 L) of resin.

[1] In 1985 the car was restored to its original condition and since then has been on permanent display at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.

[5] This successor to the 1961 Bandit featured many styling cues from the earlier car but was powered by a fuel injected 350 cu in (5.7 L) Chevrolet LT-4 engine.

Power comes from a 303 cu in (5.0 L) Oldsmobile V8 engine fitted with twin Ford carbs and a GMC 4-71 supercharger courtesy of Bell Auto Parts.

[10] Revell issued a 1/25 scale model of the Beatnik Bandit developed by Roth working with Jim Keeler in 1963 and reissued it in 1994.

In the late 1960s toy company Mattel contacted Roth about making a small die-cast car based on his design.