Dru Diesner's 1972 Nova
At first glance, Dru Diesner’s 1972 Chevy Nova isn’t a car you want to be seen in. It’s time-faded paint has gone from simply ugly to hideous, and its flanks are marred by dents and dings. The wheels are steelies with dog-dish hubcaps, sporting 1970’s chic whitewall tires that look as if they’ve come from the “any tire $5” pile. It’s so ugly that we wouldn’t even call it a rat rod; instead, it’s just plain ratty.
Don’t think of the outside appearance as anything but camouflage, since under the hood lurks a twin supercharged LS2 V-8 that produces some 1,160 horsepower – at the rear wheels. We’re fairly certain that’s more than a Bugatti Veyron Supersport, which makes 1,184 horsepower at that crank, but significantly less to the wheels.
Wheel to Wheel Powertrain’s Kurt Urban (now owner of Kurt Urban Performance) built the car to be the ultimate sleeper. Roll up next to it at a stoplight, and you’ll never notice the carefully hidden roll cage, or the release lever for a parachute. Challenge Diesner’s Nova and you’ll find that it runs the quarter mile in the nines, which puts it into a very small club of street-legal vehicles.
Diesner’s Nova may be mind-numbingly quick in a straight line, but road courses aren’t the cars forte. Like any 1970s Nova we’ve ever driven, the car’s steering precision is somewhere between “vague” and “nonexistent,” which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence at speed. We complain about an inch or two of steering play in new cars, but cars like the Nova came from the factory with inches of play in the wheel, and worn steering components only make this worse.
While we love sports cars and exotics, there’s a place in our heart for Q Ships like this, too.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
