Top 10 of 2018

[Dave Smith]

Customer Erik Treves highlights a great year of customer accomplishments with his twin-turbo Gen 3 Coupe laying
it down for charity at the 2018 London Cobra Show. This year, the company and customers made a huge difference
for charities like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Wide Open Throttle Towards 2019!

What a year it has been! It was both great and terrible, perhaps the expected highs and lows that define life.. but this year the highs were really high and the lows were equally low. It was a year of great accomplishment on the business side, and great loss on the personal side. I will always remember 2018 as the year I lost my mom. As sad as that has been, I know she is proud of her children and our accomplishments as we go forward without her.

And speaking of accomplishments, I've put together a top ten list of the highlights of 2018! As you'll see, the company and our customers have excelled at grabbing the brass ring... and if 2018 was great, 2019 is going to be even better!


One of my personal highlights from 2018 was 3-days of riding in Nevada with my 17-year-old son Adam, who is now building a Mk4 Roadster.

On behalf of everyone at Factory Five, have a safe and joyous new year!



#1: All-New 2nd Gen '33 Hot Rod Debuts in 2018

We launched our ’33 Hot Rod at the SEMA Show 10 years ago! The car was unveiled in the Ford booth, and promptly earned Best Engineered Product Runner-Up and the Global Media Award for Best New Product.



Now, 10 years later, we went back to the drawing board, and re-designed it. From big changes to small, we made the car better looking, easier to build, increased interior space, and added more options to make it easier to build your custom Hot Rod your way. The 2nd Generation Hot Rod is now in production, and was a major accomplishment for 2018

Click here for more.



#2: Factory Five Purchases Rat's Glass

As part of our investment in our Hot Rod line, in 2018 we launched our Hot Rod Truck and also purchased Rat's Glass Bodies. I got to know George Long, a.k.a. Rat, as he was getting ready to retire, and was interested in selling his company after almost 40 years in the business. Originally, George developed his composite hot rod bodies with his childhood friend Bobby Alloway. Alloway stayed with the chassis and Rat provided the bodies. Rat’s designs have earned two Riddler Awards and a lifetime of industry accolades. I hope to add the Speedstar and some of the other Rat's bodies to the Factory Five line-up in 2019.





#3: St. Jude's Charity and Ohio Cobra Club Raffle Car

In 2018, we sponsored two charitable builds. We donated a car that was built by the pilots of FedEx, and auctioned at the FedEx/St. Jude PGA Classic gala dinner and charity auction. The car would raise $95,000 for the kids at St. Jude!

Also this year, we sponsored the annual Ohio Cobra Club London Cobra Show raffle car. The car was built by Chris Relyea and his team at FormaCars, and you can buy a raffle ticket to win it! The drawing will be at the 2019 London Cobra Show in June. Buy your raffle ticket here.