The Outlaw was a fibreglass Kustom hot rod built by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth in 1959. It was one of the cars that made the Southern California builder and Rat Fink artist a central figure of the Kustom Kulture movement.
Roth Outlaw at a glance
| Builder | Ed “Big Daddy” Roth |
|---|---|
| Built | 1959 |
| Body | fibreglass Kustom hot rod |
| Magazine debut | Car Craft, January 1960 |
| Also featured in | Car Craft and Rod and Custom |
| Shown at | custom car and hot rod shows |
| Scale models | Revell, plastic kits of Roth’s cars from 1962 |
| Followed by | Beatnik Bandit (1961), Mysterion (1963), Orbitron (1964), Road Agent (1965) |
| Builder’s base | Southern California |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, which describes the Outlaw in two sentences. The car has no Wikipedia article of its own.
History of the Roth Outlaw
The Outlaw of 1959
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth was an artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder, and a key figure of Southern California’s Kustom Kulture and hot rod movement of the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1959 he created the Outlaw, a fibreglass Kustom hot rod, the earliest of the custom cars listed among his work.
A magazine car
The Outlaw was featured in the January 1960 issue of Car Craft. It was covered in Car Craft and Rod and Custom, and it appeared at custom car and hot rod shows, at a time when Roth was also selling his airbrushed “Weirdo” T-shirts at those shows and through the pages of Car Craft, from 1958 onwards.
Other Roth hot rods
The Outlaw was followed by the Beatnik Bandit in 1961, the twin Ford engined Mysterion in 1963, the Orbitron in 1964 and the Road Agent in 1965. From 1962 the Revell model company sold plastic models of Roth’s cars and later of his monsters, and it continues to re-issue his Monsters and Kustom Car kits; Mattel’s first Hot Wheels range of 1968 included the Beatnik Bandit among its first sixteen die-cast cars.
Design and features
- Fibreglass body: the Outlaw was a fibreglass Kustom hot rod, built in the style that made Roth’s name.
- Magazine fame: a Car Craft feature in January 1960 brought the car to a national readership.
- Show car: it appeared at custom car and hot rod shows alongside Roth’s other cars.
- Start of a series: the Outlaw came before the Beatnik Bandit, Mysterion, Orbitron and Road Agent.
Roth Outlaw versions
- 1959 Kustom: the original fibreglass hot rod built by Roth.
- Revell Kustom Car kit: a plastic model in the Roth range, re-issued by Revell.
- Later Roth hot rods: the Beatnik Bandit of 1961, the Mysterion of 1963, the Orbitron of 1964 and the Road Agent of 1965.
The Outlaw came first among Roth’s hot rods; the Mysterion and the Orbitron followed. More customs are in the Roth collection.
Sources
- Ed Roth, English Wikipedia: year, body, magazines, other cars
