Roadster Shop’s Inferno Camaro Wins Of Street Machine Of The Year

Photos from the Roadster Shop website and Nick Cowherd.

Roadster Shop does it again. They are known for being a shop that constantly pushes the bounds of what it means to build a street machine. We worked with them in the past when they built this badass Camaro, but this time they’ve outdone themselves with their 1969 ‘Inferno’ Camaro.

This is a build where truly every single detail was gone over. The team at Roadster Shop looked over the Camaro and hand picked every detail they wanted to keep or change. Nothing was left "good enough" and everything was modified to fit the aesthetic.

A press release from the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association details the build and Roadster Shop’s win. “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.” From looking at the car, there is no doubt the right car was awarded this honor.

“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 release continues, “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.” The build also features a naturally aspirated LT1 engine prepped by Texas Speed that puts out an impressive 680 horsepower.

They took the Camaro down as far as it would go, then cut it back a step further to make all the changes they wanted.

The interior is absolutely out of this world and was done by Jeremy Carlson’s Avant Garde Design. It’s all leather and includes bucket seats, custom trim, and a sleek design that demonstrated the time and effort put into the build.

We also reached out to Nick Cowherd over at Baer Brakes to get his thoughts on the build. Nick is closely familiar with the high-end builder’s market and the car uses Baer equipment, so we thought he’d be great for some additional input on Inferno. “Inferno in an incredible Camaro build. They pushed the boundaries as far as they could go while remaining true to the 1st gen Camaro format and beauty,” Nick explained. “I really haven’t seen anything like it.”

We were curious what his take would be on how Inferno stacks up against previous winners, so we asked him a little about his thoughts on that comparison. “Well one of the similarities to last year’s winner is that both were equipped with Baer Brakes!” Nick told us, even though he was partially kidding, it’s true that both last year’s winner and Inferno are Baer equipped. “But I thought it was interesting that last year’s Street Machine of the Year winner was much more subtle. Both are immaculate vehicles, but Inferno is way over the top, whereas the Goolsby Mustang was simple and clean. Almost a yin and yang type deal going on.”

It’s an interesting comparison to make that this year’s winner was an over the top, out of this world sort of build where last year’s winner was the opposite and had a subtle, more tame look. The year-to-year difference in winners really demonstrates the diversity in the classic auto community. You can’t win by just going as big and bad as possible, it’s about the design of the car and doing something really unique and well put together. The fact that tame can win one year and over the top can win the next year, makes us wonder what we’ll see for the 2018 Street Machine winner!

About the author

Kyler Lacey

A 2015 Graduate from Whitworth University, Kyler has always loved cars. He grew up with his dad's '67 Camaro in the garage and started turning wrenches at a young age. At seventeen, he bought his first classic, a '57 Chevy Bel Air four-door, and has since added a '66 Plymouth Valiant and '97 Cadillac Deville to his collection. When he isn't writing for Power Automedia, he's out shooting pictures at car shows, hiking in the forests of the beautiful Pacific Northwest, or working on something in the garage.
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