Is This the World’s Most Beautiful Truck?

Beauty is in the truck of the beholder.

Rod Shows, the same organization that puts on the Grand National Roadster Show each year, the guys who pick America’s Most Beautiful Roadster, has now branched out to crown the World’s Most Beautiful Truck.

But beauty is so subjective. It’s not like they surveyed the millions and millions of trucks extant in the world and then chose. No, this competition was only among the 11 trucks builders paid to enter into the WMBT category (WOMBAT?) at last weekend’s second annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Truck Show in Pomona, California. (So you can still say your truck is the world’s most beautiful and maybe no one will argue with you. Maybe they will. Like I said, beauty is subjective.)

There were some nice ones among the almost-a-dozen entered, including a couple Ford F-100s and a couple Chevy Apaches. The winner was Ed Ganzinotti’s 1956 Ford F-100.

Start arguing in the comments below.

Ganzinotti’s truck was built by Classic Car Studio in Brentwood, Missouri. The project was originally started by a guy named “Fat Jack” Robinson, who the show says was “instrumental in beginning the project’s fabrication.” After Robinson’s death in 2020, Classic Car Studio took over work on the truck.

The build features what was described as Robinson’s signature stance, along with a quick-change Winters rear end, custom wood bed floor and a Jon Kaase Boss Nine 540 cubic inch V8 with Borla Stack injection. Relic Restomods completed the body and black paint. The all-black interior is wrapped in Garrett Leather with a top-of-the-line Morel stereo system, Vintage Air air conditioning, and Dakota Digital gauges.

Ganzinotti bested 10 other custom trucks, which ran the gamut from early Fords and Chevrolet C-10s to a 1963 Volkswagen double cab and a 1966 Chevrolet C-60 ramp truck, to claim the (somewhat paltry compared to the build price) $12,500 prize and a custom trophy presented by ARP Fasteners.

You can see some of the other trucks by clicking on the gallery.

Rod Shows hopes to capitalize on America’s love of trucks to bring this new show up to the prestige it feels is due a show like the Grand National Roadster Show. With several hundred trucks on display in the Fairplex, it seems they’re on their way to that goal. Who doesn’t love trucks, after all?

“The passion for custom trucks, vans, and SUVs was evident at the inaugural show (last year), and this year’s show was even bigger and better,” said the ever-upbeat John Buck, owner of Rod Shows. “Our award winners are stellar examples of some of the finest vehicles in this segment, and we had an incredible collection of trucks join us inside and outside throughout the weekend.”

The weekend also featured mini trucks with dancing beds, race trucks, vans, and the gargantuan THOR24, known as the world’s most powerful big rig with three supercharged V12s sticking out of the hood. On Saturday and Sunday organizers said more than 250 trucks cruised into the Truck-In for the outdoor portion of the show.

For a complete list of 2024 award winners see www.rodshows.com/GNTS. And whatever you do, keep on truckin’.