The smell of overheated olive oil and scorched Cinzano filled the air as Cyclops enthusiasts of the rare Italian breed flocked to the 17th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance last March to see, in person and up close one, of 2-1/2 surviving, running examples from the famed house of Automobili Cyclops SpA. The mighty V-1 engined Cyclops II is the latest of the noble Italian breed that has charmed and inspired, confused and bewildered American enthusiasts, car buyers and customs officials since 1957.
Cyclops won no cup, trophy or ribbon at the 17th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance but it did draw the most attention on the Concours field strewn with significant competition machines and multi-million dollar collector cars. The 1957 Cyclops II is the rarest automobile ever displayed at The Amelia.
Created by Stan Mott and Robert Cumberford and manufactured by Italian automotive genius Piero Martini, the Cyclops II is minimalist transportation to the point of abject torture (fetal seating position). American Cyclops importers Trebor Crunchcog and T. Tom Meshingear were said to be present as the current owner, Glenn Thomas of Beavercreek, Ohio, brought the lone surviving base model Cyclops II to Amelia and parked it on the field amongst a heady collection of motoring giants. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Mott passed the reviewing stands in a tribute to the eight significant cars on Amelia's 'Field of Dreams.' It is rumored that the equally rare Cyclops 'Fantistico' is in private hands somewhere in Michigan.
This Cyclops' automotive hubris typifies the spirit of European auto manufacturing following WWII and before such niceties as wind tunnels, handheld calculators, CFD, and the Arabic numerals. The Cyclops II is thought to be the only car built after the Franco-Prussian War that used only Roman numerals during the design stage. Hence the name, Cyclops II.
The Cyclops answered questions that no one dared ask about personal transportation and individual mobility. Its minimalist design and manufacturing philosophy created a car that shamed the efforts of Volkswagen, Renault, FIAT, Isetta, and Hotpoint.
Making a mockery of the discipline of planned obsolescence, the Cyclops II was a car for the ages. The Cyclops' design is basic, simple, straightforward, inexpensive and easy to manufacture with basic hand tools. Marketing them in the 1950s to an America in love with fins, chrome, horsepower, style, ride, performance, comfort, reliability and value was the heady job tackled by American Cyclops Importers Crunchcog and Meshingear. However, Cyclops' extraordinary victories in competition over the years, as reported in the august journal Road & Track, winning LeMans in 1960, The East African Safari in 1964, The Targa Florio in 1965, the Indy 500 in 1968, the Nurburgring in 1969, the Japanese Grand Prix 1971 and the Great Wall of China Grand Prix in 1972 did help sales.
Some feel the Cyclops is not a car for automotive connoisseurs or, for that matter, anyone who'd actually driven a real car. It fits at Amelia exactly because it's one of those rare cars that allow us to answer that trite age old question 'Are we having fun yet?' with a hearty, 'Yes we are!' This fun was graphically captured in a genuine cartoon (above) with one of the most attractive ladies at the 2012 event expressing her appreciation of Cyclops charm.
In true concours spirit the Cyclops II was driven to and from the field by its owners and was last seen racing a Goggomobil and a 1906 17 liter Pomeraner once thought owned by the Duke of Hess-Pless-Heth through nearby Fernandina Beach at speeds approaching XCVI kilometers per hour.
