Kindig-It Design Claims Goodguys 2024 BASF Most Bitchin’ Award with the Incredible TwelveAir Corvette
You couldn’t have scripted it any better, even if it was made for TV. In the inaugural year of the Goodguys BASF Most Bitchin’ award, Dave Kindig and his team from Kindig-It Design and the TV show “Bitchin’ Rides” swooped in and stole the show with the amazing TwelveAir, a scratch-built custom coupe crafted for Dave and Tracey Maxwell that’s based on a ’53 Corvette concept and powered by an innovative and exotic LS-based V12 engine.
The BASF Most Bitchin’ honor is the latest incarnation of a long-running Goodguys Top 12 award. Originally named America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod, the award evolved several years ago to America’s Most Beautiful to broaden its appeal and participation. That appeal was broadened even further this year when the name morphed to BASF Most Bitchin’, and the award became a target for Kindig and his team after securing the Ridler Award earlier this year at the Detroit Autorama, in addition to the Street Cruiser of the Year at the Triple Crown of Rodding.
Built in secret over a nearly five-year period at Kindig-It Design, the TwelveAir is the culmination of Kindig’s many years of design, fabrication, and custom car building experience. It’s based on a clean-sheet design inspired by the Chevy Corvair concept car – a fastback version of the first-generation Corvette that never saw production. Kindig’s version also incorporates other innovative design elements from the era, like a double bubble roof similar to those found on vintage Ferraris and other Italian sports cars. And while it shares some design cues with Kindig’s CF1 production roadsters, the Twelve Air is a true one-off design with a hand-built aluminum body and monocoque structure.
That’s right, the car is not based on a conventional frame, but instead uses a floor and base structure built from reinforced 6061 aluminum sandwiched together to create a monocoque/unibody structure to which the drivetrain components are directly attached. The front and rear suspensions are inspired by Formula 1 designs, with single horizontally mounted coil-over shocks and custom control arms. A C7 Corvette transaxle serves as the foundation for the rear suspension. Modified Wilwood brake calipers and custom stainless steel rotors are used at each corner, and everything rolls on one-off 20×8- and 21×12-inch aluminum wheels designed by Kindig, machined and assembled by EVOD Industries, and plated by Ogden Chrome.
Seeking a power plant that’s as innovative as the rest of the car, Kindig worked with Australia-based Race Cast Engineering on the 9.2-liter (561c.i.) V12 engine, which is based on the GM LS engine platform. The engine is capable of 1,000 horsepower but has been tuned to about 650hp, which is more than enough for this lightweight ’Vette. It also looks as good as it runs, with an elegant-looking 12-stack intake, one-off valve covers, custom stainless steel headers, and other obsessive details. An extended torque tube connects it to the rear transaxle.
The car’s hand-shaped body was crafted from 3003 aluminum shaped over a custom buck. Virtually everything is one-off, from the custom bumpers, grille, headlight bezels, and trim, to the mirrors, lenses, and exhaust outlets. Even the windshield and back glass were custom built to Kindig’s specifications. The body was ultimately bathed in a gorgeous ruby red finish called “Infrared” from Kindig’s Modern Classikk line of paints from Akzo Nobel.
There’s more one-off goodness inside, where the 3D-printed dash, console, custom seats, and other soft parts have been upholstered in rich sienna leather by JS Custom Interiors. The custom gauges incorporate white gold and diamonds in the lettering, while the one-off steering wheel tilts up for easier entry and egress. An airplane-style yoke shifter rises from the center console, while the floor mats were machined from aluminum, sanded, painted black, trimmed with hand-formed stainless steel, and finished with a leather backing.
We could go on and on, but you get the picture. This is a car that combines creative design, historical influence, impeccable craftsmanship, and fanatical attention to detail into a sleek, sexy, seamless package that’s simply bitchin’. Congratulation to Dave and Tracey Maxwell, the Kindig-It team, and everyone else involved in a TwelveAir, a most fitting winner of the Goodguys 2024 BASF Most Bitchin’ award!
Photos by John Jackson and Damon Lee
