This one-off marvel is the handiwork of late Baja legend Vic Hickey and was raced by the famous actor James Garner in 1972. Based on a 1972 Olds Cutlass, the car features a full tube chassis, an all-aluminum, mid-mounted engine, and a custom fiberglass body built by George Barris. Ray Swift and Hickey were good friends, collaborating on several special vehicle projects and in 1973 Ray purchased the Banshee from Hickey, racing it until 1975.
Designer and builder extraordinaire, Vic Hickey was a cornerstone for the entire off-road world. He designed the Chevy Blazer for GM, helped develop the lunar rover for NASA and the Humvee for the US military. His off-road racing contributions also included the innovative “Baja Boot” which was the first purpose-built off-road race vehicle built for desert racing and was driven by the likes of Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen. Interestingly, the Olds Banshee, with its body removed closely resembles the Baja Boot and even more interesting, is the resemblance between the Baja Boot and the early Humvee concepts, which Hickey designed. The Banshee will be driven by John Swift who spent a great deal of time at Vic Hickey’s shop in Ventura, California throughout the years.The Banshee was completely restored to its original appearance in 2009 by John Swift. NORRA chose Banshee, along with the team's ’58 Edsel and ’73 «Wally Gator» to be displayed as centerpiece show-vehicles at the 2009 Off-Road Expo in Pomona, CA.
In 2010 the Banshee competed in the nostalgic NORRA Mexican 1000. The three-day, rally-style event was a throwback to the historic 1967 Mexican 1000 and featured many off-road racing legends. Names like Parnelli Jones, Walker Evans, Bruce Meyers and Rod Hall were in attendance as well as the Swifts who also share a deep-rooted history with the origins of the Mexican 1000. Competing in “Category 3”, John Swift claimed an impressive second-place finish  with the vintage icon.