Florida shop hews ’70 Chevelle from new Camaro droptops

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If you’d rather have your modern Camaro served with a dose of nostalgia, an outfit called Trans Am Worldwide has the solution for you.

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Florida shop hews ’70 Chevelle from new Camaro droptops Back to video

Crafted by the crew at TAW’s manufacturing facility in Tallahassee, Florida, the new “70/SS” draws much of its exterior style from the legendary 1970 Chevelle.

That’s a model whose quad-eyed fascia is burned into the retinas of many GM gearheads, showing up prior to power-strangling emissions rules, and before Chevy’s styling department decided to perform a double enucleation on the Chevelle for the 1971 model year.

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This creation takes the bones of a current Camaro, a car which presently sits on GM’s excellent Alpha platform, and throws away most of its sheet metal. Its new front end is a chunky rendition of the ’70 classic, complete with four round headlamps and a pointed two-bar SS grille. There’s a ‘cowl induction’ flourish on the hood, accompanied by period-correct stripes, and the rear fascia is reminiscent of the tail on a 1970 Chevelle in spirit, if not execution. A set of retro door handles and some side panel tweaks round out the visual drama.

Under the hood are one of multiple powertrain options, starting with a 450-hp LT1 V8 engine. A 396-cubic-inch upgrade is apparently capable of heaving out 900 horsepower at the rear wheels, while a LS6/X twin-turbo 454 monster with an alleged 1,500 rear-wheel horses is on offer for those who eat roofing nails for breakfast. TAW describes this level of power as ‘streetable’, though we’re not sure which street they’re talking about. The LS6/X model will be limited to only 25 units.

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The interior of the 70/SS will be instantly familiar to anyone who has ever perched themselves inside the bunker cabin of a present-day Camaro. Some retro embellishments include a cue-ball shifter, new gauge fonts, and ‘70s-style patterns on the seats, plus a smattering of custom colours and badges. A removable hard top is optional.

Pricing starts at around $150,000 in the States and can rocket up from there depending on the level of horsepower and customization demanded by the customer. Nostalgia, as we know, is a very expensive drug.