Hoonigan Is Building A Retro Camaro with Chevrolet’s New 1,000HP Crate Engine

Hoonigan was given a nearly impossible task wrapped as a present recently by Chevrolet. Well, it was, in fact, two presents. The first is a prototype of Chevrolet’s all-new V8 crate engine, which produces 1,004 horsepower and 876 lb-ft of torque. Yeah, that much power and torque in a crate engine? The world’s gone mad… and I love it.

Alongside this, they were given a third-generation Z28 Camaro, specifically for them to use with the new fuel-hungry V8. This leaves us with a rather nice equation to watch them work out. What 1,000+ horsepower divided by a Chevy? A lot of fun, that’s what.

But there’s one thing that could make this not so much fun. It has to be finished and ready for SEMA, which as you know, starts early next month.

This isn’t the Hoonigan crew’s most insane creation, but it is their largest. The 1,400-hp Hoonicorn might be the top dog in that department, but the Ford F-150 2JZ Paul Walker tribute vehicle also deserves an award for a close second.

Back to the current project at hand. Why doesn’t Chevy just give the guys a new Camaro? This particular Camaro is not your typical classic muscle car. For decades, it served as a prototype for Chevrolet’s engineers. You see, sometimes you have to remind yourself of the past so you can progress into the future.

Unfortunately for Chevy, this classic Camaro will no longer be in their future, but will instead be shredding rubber at the Hoonigan factory.

The automobile is brought to the garage in the first of what we expect to be a line of videos. After that, it’s taken to the paint booth, where most of the exterior is scraped away before being cleaned inside. By the end of the first episode, the old engine has been removed and the new one has been shovelled in under the bonnet.

The two-door has a slew of improvements, but it’s still not perfect. It received a new steering system and reinforcements, but I’m sure new brakes and suspension will be coming soon to allow the car to handle the increased Gs its chassis will be fighting.

This, after all, is the Hoonigan team. Of course, they’ll get it done by SEMA, and I can’t wait to see the final reveal.