Marc Berger

News Reviews Buyer's Guide Watch MotorTrend+ The Future Vapor, the Latest Piece of Artwork from The Roadster Shop Vapor! Robert McGaffin - Photographer; Richard Truesdell - Writer | Apr 3, 2019 Marc Berger grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley, and like many of his peers in the late Trending Pages 1960s and into the 1970s, he was steeped in the area’s car culture. He even remembers passing his driver’s test in a three-on-the-tree 1966 Valiant with no synchromesh in First gear and no 2024 Chevy Silverado EV WT First power steering. He also admits to many early car crushes, fueled in part by a neighbor with a Drive: A No-Frills, All-Electric 1970 Mustang Boss 302. It powered a lifelong passion for early Mustangs, especially the 1965 Everyday Work Buddy and 1966 models, which brings us to this car—Vapor, his pro-touring masterpiece based on a 1965 Mustang fastback. “I am into art, architecture, design,” says Berger. “I have built several modern homes, ran a large China’s GAC Introduces New Car landscape/pool design and construction holding company, so I’m always interested in functional Engine That Runs On Toxic design. I like refined, clean, simple lines. I believe great design does not need a bunch of add-ons Ammonia to make it good.” 2024 Acura Integra Type S Is the “I like iconic car design, and the 1965 Mustang was one that I wanted to put my own twist on,” Latest Dealer Markup Victim says Berger. “The Mustang build concept was to do a car that would be a modern version of the classic and look like it came from Europe rather than Detroit. I wanted it to have supercar Trucks Invade the 2023 HOT ROD performance and not just look good. I didn’t want it to be another Eleanor clone or big motor in a Power Tour—Mega Gallery! stock Mustang. My original concept was what would the 1965 Mustang look like if it was built today by Aston Martin or Porsche. My other strong influences were the current version of the Light ‘Em Up: Drag Racing, the HOT Mustang and the original GT40. I can’t remember what year I started this car but think it was ROD Power Tour Way 2013 or 2014. The car went to the 2016 SEMA Show, but it was not completely finished at that point .”

Berger did a lot of research prior to starting the build about who he wanted to work with to build what would become known as the Vapor. His research ultimately led to the Roadster Shop, in Mundelein, Illinois. Very impressed with their fabrication skills, he reached out to owner Phil Gerber about the design concept and what he wanted. Berger was told that they had a 1965 Mustang fastback they were prototyping a chassis for to address the 1965-1966 Mustangs’ known shortcomings—the original Unibody design was flexible; it was not engineered to handle the kind of power Berger planned for the car. Berger took Gerber up on his offer, shaving months off the time needed to build a chassis from scratch. Next, Berger worked with the inside design team at the Roadster Shop, and his point person was designer Chris Gray. After going through a series of design renderings the overall design was locked in and work began in earnest in 2014. With the high-powered Dodge Challenger Hellcat already on the scene, 700-plus horsepower became a benchmark for power. “I originally had bought a 5.0L Aluminator Coyote motor for the build,” he tells Mustang Monthly. “The Roadster Shop was finishing another 1965 Mustang build that was using the same Aluminator motor. I wanted to push the power up just to be at the forefront of horsepower in custom builds, so I went looking for a higher performance package.” That was solved with Edelbrock’s first supercharged Coyote crate engine that makes 750 hp. Few postwar cars are as iconic as the 1965-1966 Mustang, but the Porsche 911 immediately comes to mind. Here, Berger’s design skills inspired the build, working closely with the Roadster Shop’s Gray. Color-keyed bumpers were not part of the design vocabulary back in the mid-1960s. This led Berger and Gray to tuck in the bumpers, shorten them, and make them look like they were part of the car, with body-color paint. Berger needed fender flares to support the wider track. Initially, he wanted the flares to blend into the body and not see a line of demarcation at the blend. Gray and Gerber convinced Berger that the car would look better if it had a distinctive demarcation between the body and the flares. He went with their advice on that one and he was very glad he did. The final result speaks for itself. When it comes to the interior, Berger deferred to Gray and Jeremy Carlson, owner of Avant- Garde Design in Palm City, Florida, and the results are spectacular. “Again, I was inspired by the original GT40 interior, especially the switches, but with a more modern interpretation like found on the 2005-2006 Ford GT revival. The dash was all fabricated out of metal and Dakota Digital worked with us on the gauges, and we used the CNC machine a lot. We designed and fabricated all the switches from scratch since buying something off the shelf didn’t really fit with what we were looking to achieve.” Berger likes to say the car is all show and all go. “The Roadster Shop guys took it to the Goodguys show in Ohio recently and the car had the fastest autocross time and finished in the top four for Street Machine of the Year. It was clearly built to drive and handle with supercar performance, but candidly I like the design, fabrication, and building part probably more than driving.” Since there is so much of his heart and soul designed and built into Vapor, when asked what he thinks the car’s most distinctive design or engineering attribute is, he answered, “I think it is how all the design elements come together, work together, and make the car look and feel as if it were designed today. It is currently modern but still classic, not trendy, and it will look as good as it does today as it will 10 years from now. To me that is the test for great design and great execution. When the car went to SEMA in 2016 it was in the Edelbrock booth. We were not trying to get an award, but the Ford designers saw the car and spent a lot of time looking at all the details. They gave us a Special Recognition Design Award for the car.” Berger notes that Vapor was not directly sponsored by any of the suppliers, although Edelbrock gave him a break on the cost of the engine. He worked with Forgeline on the wheels but paid full retail for them. For a car like the Vapor, photos—no matter how skillfully taken—don’t give the car full justice. It must be experienced in person to fully appreciate the design, engineering, and skill of build

quality that went into its execution. Since Berger gets the car out to shows, if you have the opportunity, you should check it out in person to see just how far Gale Halderman’s iconic design for the 1965 Mustang fastback can be taken. See the Build! For a start-to-finish chronology of the car’s build, visit: roadstershop.com/galleries/marcs-1965- must ang. SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS Peering out of t he 19-inch Forgeline wheels’ spokes are Baer 14-inch Ext reme six-pist on monoblock calipers. The Roadst er Shop’s early Must ang chassis uses a rack-and-pinion set up t o st eer t he car and a St range rearend equipped wit h 3.9:1 gears. The Fast Track chassis are designed wit h propriet ary suspension geomet ry using Corvet t e C6 spindles and high-dollar Penske coilovers as st andard. SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS Berger’s daily driver is a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, and it inspired t he front valance. “I liked t he aggressive look and air int akes on my Cayenne,” says Berger. “We used t hat as a design element on t he front and we fabricat ed t he front grille as well.

SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS There wasn’t room t o fit t he new supercharger under a st ock-profile hood, so Berger’s design object ive was t o keep t he height of t he hoodscoop as low as possible and not t o ruin t he original design wit h a big blower under t he hood. The Roadst er Shop guys worked wit h t he chassis t o make it all fit —t o give adequat e ground clearance and keep t he hood height minimal, as bot h are int errelat ed. SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS The sport mirrors were also paint ed body color, which was a point of cont ent ion wit h t he guys at t he Roadst er Shop. Berger says, “I picked a one-year-only Porsche color, t he 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic Grey and want ed a monochromat ic look for t he car. All t he dark element s were a special charcoal color t hat we developed and not black.” SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS “I was int roduced t o t he Edelbrock family t hrough a client in t he Trophy Truck racing world,” Berger says, “and t hey t old me about a project t hey were working on. It was for a low-profile supercharged 5.0L Coyot e mot or t hat would put out

750 hp, yet able t o run on pump gas and be reliable enough as a daily driver. So, we worked wit h t hem on t he mot or and t he Vapor has t he very first product ion Edelbrock mot or in it .” The Roadst er Shop guys had t o work direct ly wit h Edelbrock t o develop t he serpent ine syst em for power st eering and t he air condit ioning compressor since t he mot or did not come wit h it . SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS One development element t hat Berger felt was essent ial was flush door handles. But t his was no easy t ask. Berger looks back at t he process. “I really liked t he flushed door handles t hat were on t he new Ast on Mart in at t he t ime and t he first car t o really have t hem. The guys at t he Roadst er Shop didn’t t hink it would look good. I t old t hem we needed t o do it and I want ed t hat as a key element of my design. We looked at buying some Ast on Mart in ones but could not make t hem work wit h t he t hickness of t he doors and t he window glass. That led t o a very expensive design and fabricat ion exercise. We made a foam model, t hen a 3D print ed version, t hen a prot ot ype before t he final CNC-fabricat ed part .” SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS

SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS “Avant -Garde did t he int erior for t he car, and I have t o say t hat t hey are operat ing on anot her level in t he cust om int erior world,” Berger says. “Anot her det ail you don’t not ice is t hat t he floors are flat in t he car. They have t he liquid mat erial t hat is like t he pink st uff on t he end of a pencil t hat is used t o erase wit h. They get t he car all jacked up and pour t his st uff in, in liquid form, on t he floors. They t hen adjust t he balance of t he car so t hat t he st uff sit s level and t he floors are flat . They t hen soundproof and carpet over it . The car has an int egrat ed rollbar t hat does not jump out and is subt le like t he rest of t he build. The hand-st it ched leat her on t he bar and int erior is as good as you would find on any Rolls-Royce.” SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS

SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS SEE ALL 13 PHOTOS “I like t o st art at t he rear,” says Berger. “I want ed t o maint ain t he classic look of t he rear t aillight s but make t hem modern wit h LEDs. I want ed a really refined look t hat flushes t hem out wit h t he rear panel rat her t han st ick out . At t he same t ime t he t aillight s needed t o st ill be easily recognizable as a classic Must ang. Chris Gray did an amazing job on bringing all t hat t oget her for me. I want ed t o paint t he back panel black like t he modern Must angs, and t hen want ed t o int egrat e t he t hird brake light and backup light s as well. I want ed a rear fuel filler like on t he modern Must ang GT, so we came up wit h a design and fabricat ed our own version. I t hink it looks like it could have rolled off t he showroom floor in 2019 like t hat .” Photography by Robert McGaffin MotorTrend Recommended Stories Need Some Inspiration for EV- Borla Active Performance Sound Is Ford of Europe Is Going More Converting Your Classic Car? Thes… Coming to Make Your EV Sound… ‘Murican by Introducing Bronco an… Justin Banner | Nov 7, 2022 Justin Banner | Nov 8, 2022 Justin Banner | Dec 13, 2022

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