At a length of just over 17 feet and a shipping weight approaching 3,800 pounds, the 1952 Buick Super Riviera is hardly an ideal starting point for a Bonneville Land Speed Record car, particularly when powered by Buick’s 320-cu.in. inline-eight engine. Sculptor Jeff Brock sees things differently than most, and his heavily modified ’52 Buick, dubbed Bombshell Betty, is a six-time Land Speed Record-setter in the XO/GCC class. On Saturday, October 15, Bombshell Betty, now owned by photographer Peter Lik, will cross the block in a no-reserve sale at Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas auction.

Raised in Flint, Michigan, Brock gained more than a passing familiarity with big American iron. Later relocating to the Southwest, Brock reportedly found his 1952 Buick Special Super Riviera (then a trim level, and not a separate model) at an old sawmill near Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008. After buying the car, he trucked it to his shop near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the project sat largely untouched until June of 2009.

Part Buick, part B-52, but with the speed of a fighter jet.