The concept art for Orbitron, showcasing Roth's skill as a design artist.

"Rat Fink," Ed Roth's signature artistic creation, which appeared in a variety of different forms in his art.

A period pic of the recently rediscovered Orbitron, with Roth himself at the wheel.

Another view of Orbitron. Several of Roth's other creations, including the Mysterion and Beatnik Bandit have been making the nostalgia car show circuit for ages now.

This just in.....well, okay, not really, it's been a little while, at least a few months since the discovery was made of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Orbitron show rod, a motorized work of art not terribly different in concept from a lot of things Roth was doing in the early-to-mid 60s. Orbitron was discovered being used as a trash bin outside a porn shop in Juarez, Mexico, and is currently being restored by Galpin Automotive Services, a restoration facility in southern California. Roth (1932-2001), if you've never heard the tale, was one of the great "surf era" artists and car designers. A Roth-style car t-shirt was a staple of growing up male in the late 60s and early 70s. I had at least one in a style similar to his originals, and wild as they were, I always admired Roth's creative genius. Pure, ground-up creativity, that's what Roth creations were all about. Salut.