Camaro, Street machine

Inferno Camaro Wins Street Machine of the Year!

Photography courtesy of Jeremy Cliff

Known for consistently pushing the boundaries of automotive design and performance, Roadster Shop  raised the bar yet again with a screaming yellow ’69 Camaro. Named “Inferno” Camaro,the car took home the Goodguys 2017 PPG Street Machine of the Year award last night on the big stage in Columbus, Ohio for owners John & Nicki Wilkus of Lakeville, Minnesota.

A multi-year build at Roadster Shop’s Mundelein, Illinois headquarters, Inferno showcases metal mastery while staying true to the classic lines of a ’69 Camaro. The first-gen street fighter features a hand-formed hood, firewall, dash, cowl, and rear spoiler as well as recessed grooves on the rear roof line which flow into the back glass. Under the reshaped hood and nestled into a masterfully crafted engine bay rests a naturally aspirated GM LT1 prepped by Texas Speed good for 680 crank horsepower. Handling is spot on with a Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis, and one off Greening Auto Company center lock wheels.

Inside the cockpit is a masterful leather interior by Jeremy Carlson’s Avant Garde Design that includes a bucket full of house-machined Roadster Shop parts and trim pieces. Every interior panel flows seamlessly into the next.

Refined, rowdy and downright sinister, Inferno turned in a hot lap of 36.995 on the AutoCross track during the Goodguys 20th PPG Nationals weekend which was the second fastest lap of the competition. Award criteria mandates all Street Machine of the Year contestants make a run through the cones.

After it was announced “Inferno” had won, Roadster Shop’s Phil & Jeremy Gerber thanked their talented team. “We have an amazing group of guys sitting out there in the crowd. Without them this wouldn’t be possible.”

The win marked the third time Roadster Shop has built a Street Machine of the Year Winner. They won the prestigious award in 2009 with Barry Blonquist’s “C1RS” ’62 Corvette and again in 2011 with Alex Covington’s “Innovator” ’67 Nova.

Click here to see the incredible build gallery.