A Last Look: The Golden Sahara II at Klairmont Kollections (sort of a 1:43 story)

Last September, at the urging of fellow model collector John Kuliak, I made a visit to the Klairmont Kollections Museum in Chicago just days before the collection was set to cross the Mecum Auctions block. Knowing the cars would soon be dispersed added a sense of urgency and gravity to the experience. Klairmont Kollections was never a conventional museum. It was an eclectic, deeply personal assemblage of automotive ambition, excess, and imagination, filled with vehicles that challenged traditional definitions of taste, purpose, and restraint.

Among the many unusual and unforgettable cars on display, one stood apart entirely: The Golden Sahara II, Jim Street’s legendary custom show car. Originally derived from a 1953 Lincoln Capri hardtop owned by George Barris, the car began life as an early Barris custom before being radically reimagined by the Delphos Machine and Tool Shop of Dayton, Ohio. Completed at an estimated cost of $75,000, an extraordinary sum in the 1950s, the Golden Sahara II was not merely customized; it was engineered as a rolling vision of the future.

The car incorporated technologies that bordered on science fiction for the era, including an automatic braking system using antenna sensors housed in the front bumperettes, along with remote-controlled, autonomous acceleration. Its shimmering gold finish, dramatic canopy-style roof, and illuminated components made it a centerpiece of mid-century car culture. It starred in the 1960 fantasy-romance film Cinderfella alongside Jerry Lewis and Ed Wynn, and later appeared on the game show I’ve Got a Secret, cementing its status as a pop-culture icon as much as an automotive one.

The Golden Sahara II remained under the care of Jim Street until 2018, when it was acquired by Larry Klairmont, who commissioned a meticulous restoration by Chicago-based Speakeasy Customs and Classics. Goodyear played a key role by recreating the car’s legendary solid urethane “Neothane” tires, complete with programmable LEDs to replicate their original illuminated appearance. Using molds supplied by vintage tire specialists Kelsey Tire, the restoration returned the car to its full show-stopping glory. Following completion, the Golden Sahara II appeared at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, the Martin Auto Museum, and the Petersen Automotive Museum, before ultimately selling for $1,265,000. The new owner has yet to be identified.

Standing in front of it at Klairmont—knowing it would soon leave Chicago—felt like witnessing the closing of a chapter in American automotive show car history. For collectors of scale models, it also feels like an opportunity waiting to be realized. A 1:43 scale model by a specialist manufacturer such as Autocult, who have proven their willingness to tackle rare, one-off customs over the past decade, would be a perfect way to preserve the Golden Sahara II in miniature. It would not just be another model, it would be a tribute to one of the boldest, most imaginative automobiles ever created. What do you think?