Canadian man and his 850-hp Buick wins Detroit's top hot-rod honor

How do you create a hot rod capable of winning the coveted Ridler Award? If you ask J.F. Launier, owner of JF Kustoms in Osoyoos, British Columbia, attention to detail is key.

That meticulous eye helped Launier become the first Canadian to win the award since 1987, dazzling the crowd with his custom 1964 Buick Riviera.

As the main attraction of the Detroit Autorama, the Ridler Award is one of the two most sought after honors in all of hot rodding, along with the slightly older America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. Both require contestants to spend endless hours — and a whole lot of money — developing a car that shows ingenuity, an ability to stun, and above all else creativity. Named after the late Don Ridler, the promotional genius behind Autorama in the mid-1950s, eligible hopefuls must bring an entirely new creation to compete.

Launier has competed before, but his Riviera, nicknamed "Rivision," was all-new — a product of 20,000 hours of labor over six years. It's estimated that more than $300,000 will have been injected into the project.

Losing its four-seat capability, the award-winning Riviera makes do with two, featuring a 6.2-liter GM-sourced LS-series engine, good for 850 hp thanks to its twin-turbos. Power to the rear wheels arrives via a six-speed manual transmission. The waste gates and turbos are located in the trunk, with heat vents blended into the rear tail lamps. The front fenders feature additional venting, along with a hot-air exit in the hood. It's far from the stock Riviera it once was, but to win this prize, that's a necessity.