There’s a rare opportunity to pick up a piece of Gran Turismo history this month, with the first ever SEMA GT Award — the 1962 Buick Special Bu’Wicked — coming up for sale on Bring a Trailer.
Built in 2002 for the 2003 SEMA event, Bu’Wicked is based on a 1962 Y-body Buick Special. Owners Ted and Sue Richardson, of Grants Pass Oregon, took what had been a largely original car and commissioned something of a monster.
The car consists of a custom Art Morrison chassis, with one-off bodywork and paint by R&J Customs, WA, and a custom interior from Jon & Gabby Lind, OR. Hot Rod Fabrication of Auburn, WA, was responsible for the overall build.
Powered by a 455ci Buick V8 and a ProCharger F-1 Supercharger, Bu’Wicked put out a healthy 550hp through a six-speed manual and a 3.55 Eaton LSD to the rear wheels. However it seems to have been tweaked further since, as the auction listed states a 700hp output as recorded by dyno.
Otherwise the car is as we recall it, with the Lexus Jade Mica over Silver Jade Pearl paintwork featuring orange Lamborghini pinstriping, and those chromed 17-inch Budnik wheels. That color scheme extends into the cabin, where there’s also a hand-stitched green leather-wrapped roll cage.
Interestingly, the car listing also features what appears to be a full build history binder, which also shows the original car and hand-drawn sketches. Matching Bu’Wicked jackets are also included, presumably belonging to Sue and Ted originally.
It was at the 2003 SEMA show where it came to the attention of many Gran Turismo fans. This was the first year that Polyphony Digital had sponsored an award at the show, with Kazunori Yamauchi selecting Bu’Wicked as the first winner.
With it came the opportunity for digital immortality, as the car was then converted into an in-game model for Gran Turismo 4 — alongside the HPA Motorsports Stage II R32 which secured the award in 2004.
Since then a further 13 cars have won the award and been converted to in-game models, although the early cars like Bu’Wicked have never made the transition from the PlayStation 2 era. With the car resurfacing after a decade out of the limelight, it may be a chance for the PD team to take new scans.
The current owner, listed as Four Peaks Motorsport, AZ, has owned the car since 2013, and has auctioned it twice before. The first time was in a Barrett-Jackson Collection Showroom auction in 2017, where it didn’t sell at around $150,000, and it recently crossed the block at the Mecum Auction in Scottsdale, AZ, not meeting the reserve with a highest bid of $95,000.
Thanks to Tom Anderson for the tip via Twitter!
