OVER 50 YEARS AGO,  DARRYL STARBIRD created one of the most futuristic, iconic customs to ever hit the streets: THE PREDICTA !

The Predicta was, and is, a car of Legendary purportions:  Sleek, Bubble-Topped, Hemi-Engined, TV Installed in its console...all wrappeed up in one beautiful, custom-built machine.  BUT, as with most show cars of its day, the burning question of onlookers & show judges everywhere was:  "Can this car REALLY be driven ?"

Well, Darryl was not shy about proving to many skeptics that The Predicta could hold its own with the rest of  'em !  With a Chrysler Hemi & Torqueflite it should scoot down the dragstrip pretty well.   HOWEVER, what really blew many people away was the fact that The Predicta did not have a steering wheel !   Instead, Darryl had devised a hydraulic stick system that he had envisioned as a futuristic-style that would steer the car just as well, if not better, than a steering wheel !!

In recent years Mercedes has unveiled the MB SCL600, a colossal coupe that has all the equipment you'll ever need...including Stick Steering !  Only Darryl created the ORIGINAL working version of that style over 50 years ago !

LISTEN TO THIS Exclusive Interview in which Darryl discusses how the "stick steering" for The Predicta came about, how he ran it up to 120mph at the 1960 NHRA Nationals, and the comment that Legendary Racer Don "Big Daddy" Garlits made after Darryl's return to the pits.   JK

(Above: The Mercedes SCL600.  A beautiful coupe with Stick Steering...50 years after Darryl Starbird created the Original working-version ! )

               (Above photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Corporation.)