eBay Find of the Week: The Aerocon Boa has Porsche power without all that unnecessary style

1977 Aerocon Boa

This week’s eBay Find is unconventional and obscure. Automotive history is littered with bright ideas from talented engineers and the Aerocon Boa (built in 1977 and 1978 in Ventura, Calif.) is just such an example. Designed by company founder and aeronautical engineer, David Saunders, it used an aluminum monocoque chassis with a structural fiberglass body. The goal was to minimize weight—1,800 lbs–while maintaining rigidity.

Saunders was optimistic, with a goal of selling hundreds of Boas per year.  Alas, production ended after only 15 were built.

The BOA was built to accommodate either a Porsche 914 or VW Beetle powertrain in a mid-engine configuration. When new, it reportedly cost $18,000 without an engine, allowing Aerocon to sell the car legally without EPA certification. To put that in perspective, this pre-engine cost was higher than that of a contemporary Chevrolet Corvette.

The example for sale reportedly has a Porsche 914 engine installed, but doesn’t say which type of 914 engine. While the mechanical condition is unknown, it does appear complete and the odometer only displays 7,284 miles. The images include scans of period road test articles and sales materials from Aerocon.

While beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, we do salute the builder’s vision. At the time of this writing, bidding was at $6,900 with reserve not yet met.