The Strickland SpeedWagon Will Be A Low-Volume, V8-Powered Sport Wagon For Enthusiasts

SEMA is well known for its numerous wild concept cars. But not all of them end up seeing production. However, Las Vegas' wildest automotive event is arguably the best platform for any automotive start-up to give it a shot at making it big, which is precisely why Strickland Motor Co, which identifies itself as a "new American automaker", is set to unveil its first concept car there.

The start-up was founded by Silas and Stone Strickland, two brothers who have, as per Strickland's press release, "been dreaming of building a car company together since they were playing with Matchbox cars before they could walk". The press release doesn't say much about who they are, and we know very little about their professional backgrounds.

Even on the company's website, the About section is rather vague, stating that one of the brothers (Stone) has worked on various start-ups and founded a couple of his own, without giving specifics. The company also makes a point on its website that it "gives a shit about people". Anyway, Strickland will apparently reveal the SpeedWagon at SEMA, a sports wagon, it says, that was built by car enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. But I have questions.

RelatedI Drove The ECD Ford Mustang And It Was As Wild As You ImagineBig name carmakers have a lot to learn from this new-from the ground up, first-generation Ford Mustang.

The SpeedWagon Will Have Over 500 Horsepower, Paired To A Manual Gearbox

On paper, the SpeedWagon is indeed everything an enthusiast could hope for. Until Strickland ramps up production, the early cars (about 50 will be produced) will be built on a BMW E46 chassis and powered by a Chevrolet LS V8 cranking north of 500 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque, or so the company says. All cars will be mated to a six-speed manual transmission (of unknown origin), will do 0-60 MPH in 3.6 seconds and will cost around $150,000.

But all of what you just read is still all up there in the air. On Strickland's website, the company says delivery of the first examples is scheduled sometime in 2025 or 2026. It's all very vague and weird, actually. To make things even worse, the company didn't send us images of the final car ahead of its debut, but rather a shady looking prototype that seems to be covered in Bondo, as well as three concept images that appear to have been sketched by a cheap smartphone AI app.

The Company Wants To Eventually Sell A Twin-Turbo Model With Over 1,000 Horsepower

Strickland assures that production of the first SpeedWagons will commence as soon as SEMA wraps up, and that reservations will open "soon" via its website. If the first models pick up as expected, the company would like to expand its performance wagon lineup with the VelociWagon powered by a twin-turbocharged V8. That one, according to the company, is set to pump out 1,225 horsepower and north of 1,000 lb-ft of torque, hit 0-60 MPH in 2.4 seconds (two point four!) and cost around $405,000. Sure.

Look, restomodding is currently the next big thing in the automotive aftermarket. I'll personally stand behind any start-up wanting to venture in this direction. It's a highly lucrative business, and a V8-powered, manual wagon is, after all, a V8 manual wagon. It's cool as hell. But we now live in an era where restomods have hit an entirely new level of quality and craftsmanship, something I personally witnessed when I visited ECD's facilities in Florida this summer.

We'll see how this Strickland affair plays out, and I wish all the best to the founding brothers. Starting a car company is never going to be easy, and I'm sure SEMA will act as a fantastic launching pad for the company. But if you're about to market a $150,000 project car, you at least need to be ultra transparent and informative about what consumers are to expect from your product before they trust you with their deposits. Unfortunately, there are too many unanswered questions here to have me fully convinced.