Marv’s Garage: NASA's hot-rod helped build the space shuttle.

Back in 1963 the space race was in full flight (hoho!) and NASA wanted to test their concept of a "lifting body". This is, basically, a sleek aircraft with wings that don't support its flight as the fuselage does that instead.

The space shuttle is a lifting body, the end product of decades of development. And that started with the M2F1 in 1963. An unpowered tow-glider it was built out of timber and used all the science learned in scale models... But they needed a way to get it in the air, which involved towing it at over 100mph (160km/h) and regularly topping 140mph. Remember this is 1963, when your average family car had under 150hp and needed a sundial to time their quarter-mile ETs.

Pontiac was on top of the performance game in '63, with the Super Duty program delivering wins on NHRA drag strips and NASCAR ovals alike. Mickey Thompson had also used 4 blown Pontiac V8s to be the first American past 400mph in 1960.

An officer called Whitey Whiteside knew all this and made the capital suggestion a Pontiac Catalina, ordered as a drop-top (so passengers could keep an eye on the M2F1 at take-off), and with a thundering 370hp 421ci HO Poncho V8 and 4-speed was ordered.

So the story goes the NASA boffins didn't know how to order such a hot set of wheels with Congress' money and get it past, so they applied for the cash under the guise of buying an engine for their lifting body. And it worked.

While a 370hp 6.9L Pontiac was no slouch, they're infamously tunable and so NASA took their new machine past Bill Straub's shop, who spiced up the big 421ci Tin Indian and fitted a roll cage.

It worked as the Catalina was able to tow the M2F1 into flight over 400 times, needing 30secs to reach 100mph under towing conditions and with 3 or more scientists riding in the big Cat.

The car was retired as self-propelled prototypes took over, and it disappeared though it is rumoured to be awaiting restoration