Get a classic pro touring car without all the headache of having to actually oversee or participate in its build: the West Bend Dyno Tuning Pro Touring Trans Am.
This formidable, 1,000 HP competitor in the Optima Street Car Challenge – and overall winner of the Heidts Performance Challenge – has enjoyed its fair share of celebrity. It was featured at the SEMA trade show in 2013. And in Popular Hot Rodding magazine. And on Lucas Oil’s MAVTV network.
The Firebird is up for sale on eBay right now, but of course, celebrity is expensive. In this case, the car is listed for $95,000. It’s propelled by a Wegner Motorsports LS3 V8, with ported heads from an LS9, and a massive 3.3 liter supercharger from Lysholm. Injectors, radiator, exhaust, etc. are all up-sized to match. Wilwood brakes haul it to a stop – 6-piston front, 4-piston rear – and the Bowler T56 6-speed manual is upgraded.
And then there are the excellent 3-piece wheels from Formula 43, the complete Sparco interior, and carbon fiber door skins and fenders (both inner and outer). Even the T-Tops are still removable, because viva los “nineteen-eighties.”
The seller states that the $95,000 asking price doesn’t even come close to matching the cost of the extensive parts list, and that’s likely true.
There are plenty of other options out there for the frugal spender to get to 1,000 horsepower, but honestly, are any of them this freaking cool?
Comments
I understand that some people still find high horsepower gasoline engines interesting. I was one of them, and built one before it was a simple matter of ordering the parts from a catalog. It was a lot of fun to toss these wild machine around, but not so much when simply tooling around town. I now view these cars in the category of “Yawn. Been there. Done That.” I like a challenge, that’s why I started a business converting sports cars to all electric. And why I really want to get my hands on several Cadillac ELRs and build something wild. But that just me.
That is excellent, I applaud you. Not only are the possible performance envelopes so unfathomably high with electric motors, but it’s a way to immortalize and “future-proof” lovable, classic cars, before our next major oil crisis.