A gorgeous 1969 Chevrolet Camaro resto-mod nicknamed "Fenix" just debuted at the 2023 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA, and it'll make any muscle car lover envious. Penned by famous designer Sean Smith and built by the team at Driven Speed Shop, the car owned by Micheal Shields is a gorgeous combination of style, luxury, and raw power with 1,180 horses under the hood thanks to a supercharged 427 LS7 V8.
Sean Smith has created some incredible vehicles over the years, and you've probably seen a couple of them here or there. A few years ago he created one of the craziest Dodge Charger designs of all time with a mid-engined variant that starred in Fast and Furious 9 and was brought to life by Speedkore.
More recently, he designed a one-off Plymouth Road Runner for Kevin Hart that was brought to life by Salvaggio Design. The man knows something about making incredible resto-mods, and this Camaro is undoubtedly no exception.
Shields approached Smith directly in 2019 at SEMA with the goal of getting him to create a vehicle similar to another Smith-penned Camaro being showcased there. Obviously, the conversation was fruitful, because within no time Smith was on board the new passion project.
To get the vehicle where Smith wanted it to be, the design underwent some changes. Driven Speed contoured the car's lines to Smith's specifications with a reimagined front end with a wider intake and an aerodynamic front splitter. The front grille was also machined out of billet aluminum along with many other parts for the car. New bumpers were created for the front and back and integrated into the bodywork.
The front splitter ads functional aero, and was inspired by passenger jet wings. The winglets can be found on the front splitter and rocker panels while the rear features a 3D-printed trunk spoiler and diffuser-style rear valance.
All the lighting is custom, with the rear only running horizontally to make the car appear wider. In fact, it's easier to say what isn't custom on the car, which basically only boils down to some body panels. It sits on the Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis, with Driven Speed fabricating the floors, wheel tubs, and trunk.
The chassis includes RS Fast Track front suspension with C7 Corvette spindle and hub assemblies. It utilizes six-piston Baer brake calipers with 14" rotors at each corner and then sits on some beautiful HRE RS103 wheels equipped with massive Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires to attempt to harness the insane power from the LS7.
Speaking of, the supercharged LS7 was built by Wegner Motorsports to the dyno-proven 1,180 hp. It's then mated to a Tremec T56 six-speed from RPM transmissions and framed by an engine bay fabricated by Driven Speed. This crate engine was recently discontinued, so there's even some added allure.
The car wears a gorgeous shade of PPG silver with Liquid Champagne and Satin Charcoal accents done by Kandy Shop Creations. The interior was then inspired by European sports cars to Smith's exacting specifications creating a completely different feel from the stock one. Charcoal grey and Creme leather feature throughout, with a Liquid Mercury paint being featured on the bottom of the dashboard and accenting throughout.
There are almost too many changes to mention, and we all know that cars like these are better seen than read about. So hopefully the minimal sketches and models do it somewhat justice.