December 31, 2016, years end.  One more year fades into the rear view mirror. I pause longer to reflect, than was the case when I was younger.

Yesterday I stopped by The Roadster Shop which is across the street from the Starbucks where I often come to write.  The guys and gals at the Roadster Shop build street rods and muscle cars for their clients.  The day of the muscle car has passed, as new cars today are cybernetic managed systems for transportation.  In the early to late 60s the muscle car could have been a Chevy Camaro, a Ford Mustang, or a Chrysler Hemi with a emphasis on the muscle of high horsepower ratio to a light body and chassis.  The name of the game was heart stopping acceleration, and a sensuous body style.

Even in winter my pulse quickens upon discovery of one of these vehicles, dripping with testosterone.  The crackling pitch of the exhaust note, and the acrid smell of high octane fumes say “street weapon.”

Here are photos I captured of the “Inferno” Camaro, a recent creation of the Roadster Shop.  The car won awards at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, and you gear heads know in what rare company that places this 1969 Camaro.

I’ve never seen a Camaro quite like this one.  The wide profile, aggressive racing tires, the lowered body spell a love affair with asphalt.

 

The spoiler at the rear blends in with the downward angle of the ground effects sheet metal extending under the car.  This is a aerodynamically slippery vehicle.  Note the scaled down side mirror, another concession to aerodynamics.

Rear brake cooling vents are elegantly formed into the body work.  You can also see the precise fit and finish of the door to the surrounding quarter panel sheet metal.

 

Those of you familiar with the hood of a Camaro SS will recognize rectangular bulge of the cowl induction.  A big block Chevy crate motor rests under the sheet metal, drawing it’s intake from air pressure at the base of the windshield.  Form is dictated by function.  Performance is designed into every curve of sheet metal.

 

The final photo pushes the limit of the camera to capture a sculptural detail.  Perhaps you can see that the dimensions of the hood air induction is also subtly reflected down the center of the roof sheet metal.  Moreover, the same dimension is gracefully molded into the downward sloping rear window glass.  This vehicle qualifies as art, as far as I am concerned.

For you gear heads here is a link to the Roadster Shop site with a photo montage of the build out of this car.  Inferno Camaro build out.

To the staff at the Roadster Shop, “Carry on my friends.  Job well done!”