From wikipedia:

"The Willys Aero was a line of passenger cars manufactured first by Willys-Overland and later by Kaiser-Willys Corporation from 1952 through 1955. Lark and Eagle models were built from 1952-1954. A Wing model was available only in 1952, a Falcon model in 1953, and a taxicab in very limited production in 1953 and 1954. The Ace was the only model built through all U. S. production. 1955 saw two new models, the two- and four-door Ace sedans (renamed Custom shortly into the production run) and two-door hardtop Bermuda. Production in the U.S.A. ended that year as Henry J. Kaiser decided to give up the Kaiser and Willys Aero lines and concentrate solely on Jeeps. A total of 91,377 Aeros were built in Toledo."

The Aero Class

I must admit I didn't know much about these cars at the time. When I first came across one I was looking for something completely non car related. At first I thought it was a type of Kaiser but after a bit of web research figured out what it was. After giving it a once over I thought it could make a very cool custom and hit the web again to see if anyone else had thought of this as well. To my dismay the entire internet has done custom Aeros. How the heck did I miss this boat? I decided to give one the "burningman" treatment. After plenty of sketches that mostly didn't cut it for me I hit upon this idea.

This was a quick sketch that defined the general idea I had in my head. A 1950's art deco inspired car with a very modern power plant and suspension. Some inspirations came from art deco design some from the 1950's World of Tomorrow feel and some from an old favorite of mine "Frankenstude" and even a little Mercedes SLR. The body has been channeled, the hood pinched a bit and a distinct feature line put in it starting at the front emblem and sweeping back to the front glass. The general shape of the front bumper was carried as chrome plated strakes down the side of the car.

Once I had ironed out the general details I started on the render. Color was a tough choice but I ended up with a kind of burnt copper color. The volume of the car was then fleshed out a bit. The car was taking on a 50's era streamliner that really sat well with me. I was getting very excited at this car. I smoothed over all the details on the car. Moved the marker lights, smoothed over the headlight rings, and blended some body details.

For the final render I wanted a very minimal background that didn't detract from the car and wanted to tell a little story so I added the silhouettes of people with the car keys dangling. You can decide who actually owns the car. I also decided at this point to change the wheels and went with over sized and color keyed Moon inspired wheels. The car was two toned and the reflections popped out. Over all this render really sang to me and I'd be very proud to call this car mine.