My custom 1959 Coupe De Ville

Hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into creating the wildest and most lavish creations of chrome and paint on wheels.  And while plenty of smoke and mirrors are used when these custom machines go on show they are the real deal, perfectly capable of  being driven on the road. Though that is usually avoided because of the owners' paranoia about getting them damaged.

Two Australian cars have qualified to be in the top 50 custom machines in  the huge Showcase of Kustoms exhibition in Long Beach, California late next month before they go on tour in the US.  The king of the pile is Mario and Catriona Colalillo's extraordinary creation, WildCad.

It was once a humble 1959 Coupe De Ville but you have to look pretty hard (or get Mario to show you) just which original bits are still present.  WildCad has a hand-fabricated mono chassis and a fully metal sculptured interior.

Mario has chopped five inches off the original roof and it has a power operated bonnet, boot and suicide doors.  World famous custom car painter 82-year-old Gene Winfield flew from the US to Australia to personally paint WildCad.

There's five different colours of unique PPG vibrance range fadeaway paint in a job that Mario estimates costs $200,000 alone. It won the award of Top Custom Car in Australia at the recent MotorEx show in Sydney.   "It's the wildest custom ever built in Australia," he says proudly.

And he should know. Mario has been building award-winning custom cars and hot rods for 30 years.  "This one's beyond the limit. It's completely off the scale," he says.  "This car is mainly about expressing metal art."

And it is right-hand-drive, done purposely to show the Americans that it's from Australia and we can do a great job.  The Americans know all about WildCad and are anxiously awating its arrival next month.  Mario says two famous Americans are particularly keen on seeing it.

ZZ Top lead singer Billy Gibbons and basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neill, both massive custom car fans particularly Cadillacs, will be there.  "They are very interested in looking at the car," says Mario.

So interested he may end up selling it to either of them.  The car will also make an appearance at the world's biggest aftermarket show, SEMA, in Las Vegas in November.

But WildCad is not just all-show, it also goes.  He says he has driven it in short bursts and it's loud and wild.  Mario says he expects it would reach about 210km/h but it's too valuable to find out.

Its powered by a custom-made 454 cubic inch (7.4-litre) Chevrolet V8 engine capable of between 400-500hp (300-372kW).  "It sounds strong and it lights up the tyres," he says.

Joining WildCad will be the creation of another New South Welshmen, Justin Hills's sinister-looking 1949 Buick Sedanette two-door fastback.  With its aerodynamic sloping roof  that extends to the rear bumper bar the black beast looks straight out of a Batman movie.

Hills bought the car over the internet after it was found in a paddock in the US.  He says he spent five years creating the custom and intends to show it at several shows in the US, including SEMA.

Apart from the the total re-build of the fastback shape about more than $100,000 including copious amounts of his own labour has been spent on the chrome plating, the trim and the gorgeous soft leather interior.  The engine though, of this sheep in a wolf's clothing, is basically an original 263 cubic inch straight eight Buick.

"This car is just a cruising car, it runs real quiet," he says. But its mean looks give it a sensational feel.  The Buick is off to the states in two weeks.