In 2011, “American Chopper” hosted a three-way bike building competition, with the winner to be determined by audience vote. Besides Paul Teutul Sr. representing Orange County Choppers, there were two other designers in Paul Teutul Jr., representing his own new company in Paul Jr. Designs, as well as Jesse James — formerly of West Coast Choppers and “Monster Garage” reality show fame.
For his part, James chose a clean, classic chopper design except for a frame constructed from stainless steel. Paul Jr. decided on a design modeled after a World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane, and OCC selected a truly bizarre snowmobile-like all-terrain vehicle.
Why did the OCC patriarch choose such an off-the-wall creation that really didn’t fit the theme of the competition and therefore was unlikely to win? According to Paul Sr., he felt that he was vilified in the public eye for the infighting at OCC and therefore, wouldn’t receive votes anyway because of lack of popularity, so the company might as well build something outrageous.
Outrageous, it was. The bike required that its rider had to virtually lay down flat to pilot, it had tank treads instead of front tires, and was powered by twin electric motors. For good measure, the machine also had a pair of flamethrowers fitted to the front. After a copious amount of trash talking and gags between the three teams, Paul Jr. and his P-51 Mustang-themed bike was declared the winner.
