Colgan Custom, a division of Covercraft Industries, Inc., was the originator of the automotive Bra back in 1960. Back then Bill Colgan had a shop in Burbank, California that did custom auto and boat upholstery. One day a group of Lockheed engineers approached Bill with a collection of ragged canvas, sewn-in wooden slats, rubber bands, crude hooks and other pieces, and asked him if he would be interested in making a dozen of these. Always up for a challenge, Bill Colgan replied that he would, but he wondered what the piece was. The engineers informed him that it was a protective cover that was used by the Porsche factory for road-testing new cars. Mr. Colgan completely redesigned the German designed cover, spending almost as much time road-testing it as sewing, and after about six weeks had finished 12 newly redesigned and constructed protective covers. Shortly after that the Lockheed engineers returned asking for 50 more. Colgan made a total of about 150 covers at that time, but had to curtail the project because of the demands of his upholstery work. After relocating to Newport Beach, California 10 years later some friends who were Porsche devotees asked Bill if he could make a version of his protective cover for the 911 series. He did design a version for the 911 and also placed an ad in Road & Track magazine, tagging his new creation a "Bra." Colgan continued to make the covers for Porsches and after a couple of years decided to branch out to other vehicles, and introduced a version for the Datsun 240-Z. Surprisingly, interest and demand wasn't immediate for the 240-Z version, but around 1975 the idea caught on and eventually others also began making the Bras. Colgan Custom's Bra will always be the original and the reference standard used by all others in their Bra designs, though.

The main material used in the construction of Colgan Custom's Bras are a synthetic backed vinyl with a vinyl coating and non-mar backing. Colgan Custom discovered years ago that available upholstery materials were subject to temperature changes and would become too loose in summer heat and too stiff in cold winter temperatures. To address this problem Colgan had a material formulated specifically for their needs that featured a special vinyl coating. Colgan Custom's impression of breathable materials is that they do not belong in Bra construction. When breathable materials are stretched tightly over flat metal hoods, fenders, etc., they allow moisture in faster than they let it out in humid climates. There is also an opportunity for abrasive dirt and dust to be allowed in between the cover and the vehicle, potentially causing damage to the vehicle's finish. The non-mar backing of Colgan Custom Bras is specially designed not to mark or damage paint.