Sean Smith is a car designer. He has designed cars for Saleen, Ringbrothers, SpeedKore, Fast and Furious and even Rockstar Games, who of course make Grand Theft Auto. Recently though, Mr Smith was tasked with upgrading an old 1969 Camaro, and this is it.
The delightful ‘liquid champagne’ hued monster you see above is called the ‘Fenix’ Camaro, commissioned by a chap named Michael Shields who wanted his car to look like one of Smith’s earlier designs; specifically, a 2019 Camaro he built for SEMA.
Taking inspiration from Aston Martin, Bentley and even Porsche, the pair agreed on a ‘sports GT concept’ for this Camaro. With of course, outrageous amounts of horsepower.
Lurking underneath that long bonnet lies a supercharged 7.0-litre LS V8 tuned by Wegner Motorsports. And it is very supercharged, because on the dyno it’s pumping out 1,180bhp. That’s matched to a six-speed Tremec gearbox and a ‘Roadster Shop Fast Track’ chassis.
The Fenix pinches the spindle and hub assemblies from a Corvette, features modified ‘RS Fast Track’ suspension and 355mm discs with six-pot calipers hiding behind two-piece HRE wheels.
Shall we talk about that unique body? Built by Driven Speed Shop, it features bespoke front and rear ends, tightened panel gaps, a custom grille, splitter, front valance, a new rear panel/valance/diffuser setup, and even a 3D-printed boot spoiler. As modified eleventy-billion horsepower Camaros go, this one’s quite something.
It’s had a total revamp inside too via 3D-scanning to reproduce the dash, door panels and centre console out of foam board. And of course, it’s trimmed in much leather.
“The result is a truly remarkable vehicle that combines luxury and elegance with the astonishing performance of an 1,180bhp supercharged Chevrolet 427 LS7 V8 engine,” we’re told.
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