There are many ways to spend $99,995. One is to buy this 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, converted into a “Pontiac Trans Am” by Rev Up Motors in Shelby Township, Michigan. Tip of the cap to Russ Glantz for supplying the Facebook Marketplace listing. Or you can view the original listing at Rev Up Motors.
Starting with the original vehicle, the 2012 Camaro was no slouch in its own right. The ZL1 came with supercharged 6.2L LSA V8 engine, good for 580 horsepower and 556 lb-ft of torque. The original owner opted for the 6-speed automatic transmission–Lord knows why–which gave this Camaro a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds. The seller states it only had 14,937 miles before conversion, with no accidents or repairs reported, and still sits under 15,000 after all the upgrades. Now about that conversion…
The last authentic 4th Generation Pontiac Firebirds and Trans Ams rolled off the assembly line in the summer of 2002. The Chevrolet Camaro ended its 4th gen run around the same time, but Chevy’s decision to resurrect the Camaro in 2010 coincided with GM’s axing of the Pontiac make entirely. Consequently, no 5th Gen Firebird or Trans Am. Not long after Camaro’s return, mock-ups of what a new Firebird and Trans Am might look like started popping up on the internet. Those drawings evolved into actual conversion kits, complete with the Pontiac arrowhead and Firebird and Trans Am decals and badging, right down to the famed hood bird. This conversion is recent, and seems to have left the mechanicals alone for the most part, at least according to the listing. The 20” wheels and tires are new, and “not cheap” per the seller. They also say the car was lowered 1” and all the panel gaps are perfect.
Inside, there are a couple of issues. What in the world is going on with that steering wheel emblem? It looks like they glued a refrigerator magnet over whatever was there for the Camaro. Also, no one bothered to cover or replace the ZL1 emblems on the bottom of the steering wheel or above the glove box. Obviously, the Camaro and Firebird models shared a platform for 35 years and became more and more alike over time, but for $100k, the Camaro needs to be fully scrubbed from this car. And don’t get me started on the transmission–you’ve got that much cash to spend on a sports car, and you can’t pay someone to teach you to drive a stick? I’m not sure I can get behind the wheel of this one. Can you?
Autoloader like Bandits T/A chrisr 🤠
A waste of $100k IMO
Just doesn’t look right… hard NO!
I remember that company being featured on a television show. They tried to recreate the Trans Am. Pontiac went away and GM had the new Camaro tha just happened to be the same platform the Fire Chicken was always based on. Sure GM had more money to execute, so yeah it was pricey. Got to give them an A for effort!
Good Grief! – there’s more than one of these!
There weren’t any Trans Ams in 2012, this is still a Camaro, I’m sure the title is listed as a 2012 Camaro, it’s a knockoff of an orphan model that doesn’t look right