1961 Hoyt Special

Al Hoyt is an American hero. He flew 50 missions in a B-17 bomber during World War II and 100 more in a Phantom F-4 during the Vietnam War. He spent 29 years protecting our nation in the Air Force and retired as a full Colonel. And in between all of this service to our country, he went racing.

In the early sixties, the Hoyts were living in O’Fallon, Illinois, and Al was looking for a good project for him and son Mike. Al found the answer in the form of a lovely sports car that would soon become known as the Hoyt Special. According to Mike, “We built the car around 1961 after my father’s tour of duty in England. He owned a couple of Lotuses while we were stationed there, and when we got back to the states he wanted to build a car of his own creation based on some of the things we’d seen in Europe.”