Duck-tail spoiler? Check. Fender vents? Check. Twin-port front grille? Check. Raised white-letter tires? Check. A 445 cubic inch V8? Check. Honeycomb wheels and a screamin' chicken? Oh, hell yeah.
Call it an homage or a re-creation or whatever you'd like, but the 455 TA that Lingenfelter Performance Engineering is bringing to the SEMA show in early November is a peculiar kind of awesome. Inspired by (or copied from) the second-generation 1971 Pontiac Trans-Am with the 455 engine, the Lingenfelter hits most of the right visual notes. Certainly, we think the time for the return of the honeycomb wheel is past due.
Built on a current Camaro body, the 455 TA packs a GM LS-based, aluminum-block, 655-horsepower V8 with an 11.5:1 compression ratio and ported and polished LS7 heads. It uses the a variation on the Corvette ZR1's twin-disc flywheel and clutch assembly. The wheels are custom 20-inchers wearing Nitto tires.
Lingenfelter promises "custom classic interior" to match the exterior style. Look for more information from the SEMA show floor on November 3. The vehicle is a one-off for now. But Lingenfelter claims, it'll be gauging whether there's enough interest to build a run of customer cars.
altimadude00 says:
01:05 PM, 10/22/09
Wow! A lot of people will be happy to see this and hope for this.
bankerdanny says:
01:06 PM, 10/22/09
That particular grill is far and away my favorite. If I were to ever buy a Firebird or Camaro it would be a 70 1/2 - 72 Formula with the Ram Air scoops. My own personal F-4A for the street.
ctpax says:
02:03 PM, 10/22/09
looks like a Charger up front.
cruiserhead1 says:
02:07 PM, 10/22/09
that looks awesome! Could go a little smaller (like half) on the rear spoiler but great re-invention of the T/A.
estreka says:
03:00 PM, 10/22/09
I don't find that car itself that attractive, but I'll be damned if anyone could make a more spitting image of the ol' T/A.
94_gsr_cpe says:
04:33 PM, 10/22/09
I was kinda hoping for a Trans Am to come out....but this is fugly. The wheels are cool. but the rest just makes me nauseous
the_big_al says:
12:05 AM, 10/23/09
For me, it's the wheels that I don't like... the rest of the car is pretty cool though. I likes.
ag4 says:
12:30 AM, 10/23/09
The donor body (new Camaro) was inspired by the 1st generation Camaro/Firebird body.
Its odd to see the nose of the 2nd generation Firebird(Trans Am) grafted on, it looks ok, but it doesn't really feel right.
wrinklebump says:
11:47 PM, 10/23/09
Thing is fugly and awesome. Imagine if that son of a beast parked next to you the next time you're at Five Guys.
cycomic says:
07:21 PM, 11/13/09
THIS CAR IS NICE.....ENGINE AND EVERYTHING ELSE...