2025 Velocity Restorations News
An adventure with Autosport Designs and Velocity Restorations!
In 2025, Autosport Designs officially became a dealer for Velocity Restorations, which specializes in no holds barred “modernized” vehicles like classic Broncos, K5 Blazers, Mustangs, and even International Scouts. Outfitted with an advanced chassis, modern drivelines with up to triple the available horsepower from stock, and completely bespoke interiors, these are amazing builds that look amazing in any collector’s garage.
In January of 2025, I had the opportunity to “test run” an early Bronco from Velocity for a couple of days during Arizona Auction Week. I put the Bronco through its paces all around Scottsdale, getting the chance to not only experience what it can do on the open road, but to see the reactions of the crowds that gathered everywhere we went.
Day One: The pickup
Flying into Sky Harbor in Phoenix, I wasted no time grabbing an Uber to collect my Velocity Bronco from a storage location near the airport. What was presented to me was my favorite spec, the Ranger Package 1966-1972 Bronco. It has a fantastic retro look, with minimalist wheels, an outdoor friendly custom interior, unique stripes, and a Gen3 5.0-liter V8 with 460hp, run through a 10-speed automatic. There was a small bikini top in place, all I needed for a few days in the Arizona sun. Getting to know the controls was a breeze, and the interior is instantly recognizable, yet beautifully modernized with bright, clear gauges, air conditioning, twin sticks for the beefy 4WD system, and much more. A twist of the key and the 5.0 fired to life. This was going to be fantastic.
Being that this was auction week in Arizona, our first stop on the adventure was the Bonham’s collector car auction. Thanks to the fact that Autosport was keenly interested in some of the cars for sale, we had a front row parking spot for our Velocity Bronco. I stood off the side for a while, listening to the comments of the attendees. Talk about a showstopper- the consensus from the crowd was that this was an incredibly unique take on the classic Bronco, and they absolutely loved it. Lots of photographs, and everyone wanted to take a closer look. I wandered back over and answered questions for a bit, before leaving it alone and going into the auction. Thanks to the locking storage compartment, I wasn’t worried about my belongings being out in the open, which was also nice. We enjoyed the auction, and while the Lamborghini Miura was not in the cards for us to own, I managed to buy a nice looking Bugeye Sprite for my own little collection. In my defense, I should never be left alone at these things. Okay, back to the Velocity Bronco…
At this point I had also been joined by my friend Steve, who would be my co-pilot for the rest of this adventure. Next stop from Bonhams was to the world of Barrett-Jackson. Many people go to auction week just for Barrett, but it depends on your tolerance for spectacle. I’ve always loved it, as you get a sense of lots of different areas of the collector car market, both in sales of stock cars, and what the aftermarket is sensing as a need.
I was interested in spending some time over at Barrett Jackson primarily for two things- one, to meet some of the people we work with as a Lotus franchise dealer in New York, and two, to see what other types of high end “Restomods” are out there for the public to absorb. My takeaway was that Velocity is the top offering in this market- fit and finish is up to a standard you simply don’t see from any other builders. Everything simply looks factory, and right. We ended the first day with a great impression so far, and being really blown away about how much an impression the Bronco makes in a sea of Ferraris, Porsches, and other classic and exotic cars in this environment.
Day Two: Let’s Stretch the Legs
We got up early with another full day ahead of us, and getting where we needed to go involved a great mix of city and highway driving. Let’s talk for a minute about the driving dynamics here- this is not an overpowered hot rod, but an incredibly well-engineered vehicle that can do anything you ask it to.
Dipping into the throttle, you quickly realize this is something very special. The custom exhaust system sounds incredible, especially as all 460 hp comes online. Snappy upshifts from the 10-speed automatic make for quite an experience off the line, and the custom chassis keeps it all in control. We didn’t play with the locking front hubs, so all our driving was done in RWD mode on the street, which worked great. I’d leave the front diff open unless you were truly off road, in my opinion. I’m typically a manual transmission guy, but you won’t miss it here. Up or down the gears, the automatic does the job just fine, and I can’t see that the performance would be affected by having a true manual. Just enjoy this for what it is- an incredibly capable and easy to drive adventure vehicle.
We amused ourselves up on the highway as well, squeezing up through the gears in a completely legal fashion over to our first stop of the day, the Bring a Trailer gathering. Autosport is a partner with Bring a Trailer, and we sell as well as buy on our own cars on the site, as well as manage the sale of cars on behalf of clients on a consignment basis. Not only did we have the chance to park in the middle of the action for more great audience commentary, but we also participated in a drive through of the entire event with a hundred other cars. Our burbling exhaust had one of the best crowd reactions as we blipped through the crowd on the way to event number two over at Radford Racing School, then to the RM Sotheby’s auction, then finally to our photo shoot over at a desert golf course with my friend Forest Casey, a professional automotive photographer who truly understands “the golden hour.” Thanks, Forest!
While these impressions are specific to the ’66-72 Bronco model we had at our disposal, the same thoughtfulness of design, uniqueness, and performance has been applied to the entire Velocity lineup. We did not have an opportunity to drive out in the desert in our loaner this week, but you may find us doing our own adventuring in the dunes of Montauk this summer.
I’d encourage you to check all the offerings at https://www.velocityrestorations.com/, and certainly keep an eye on our inventory of select models here at Autosport. We can help custom configure anything you like, so feel free to ask about anything you see.
Brad Phillips- Autosport Designs