MAD MAD

Looking at Llew Picton’s badass ’69 Camaro on the cover of this issue, there’s no doubting that the man has a great sense of style and a penchant for the finer things in life. So, when pressed for what he would do if not bound by such realities as budget, we weren’t quite sure what the answer would be. The answer was a build that Llew describes as having a “street fighter / pro-tourer–cross look but with modern aesthetics and a classy finish”. The basis would be a ’55 Chev Nomad station wagon, but the reality is that it would be a Nomad in looks only, as the running gear in its entirety would be plucked straight out of a 2018 Audi RS6. Those in the know will tell you that an RS6 is pretty much as good as a modern car gets, and, with a twin-turbo four-litre V8 under the hood, it’s the car of choice for the modern-vehicle connoisseur with a taste for performance. Making Llew’s concept even more impressive is his suggestion of adding upgraded TTE9XX turbos and ECU, a proven formula to boost the RS6 power plant’s performance to over 1000hp. This power would be funnelled through the RS6’s factory paddle-shifted six-speed tiptronic transmission with Dynamic Shift Programme through to all four wheels.

While swapping the body of the Nomad onto the RS6 platform would be one way to go, Llew’s had great success with the Roadster Shop Fast Track

chassis in his Camaro, so would go down the same route with this car — with LVVTA input, of course.

This path would allow for the track-proven Roadster Shop steering and suspension geometry to be used. For the right stance, Llew would shy away from coilovers and opt for Ridetech airbags managed by an AccuAir system.

On a ride with this sort of power, brakes would be important, so Llew would go for a set of giant Wilwood calipers on each end. Luckily, the 19x10inch and 20x15-inch Boze Intake wheels would have no problem swallowing the giant rotors that they’d use.

While the body would clearly be ’55, it’d be adorned with carbon-fibre bumpers tucked close into the bodywork, with a custom splitter added below the front one. Kindig-It flush-mount door handles and JW Speaker LED headlights would be the finishing touches. For the interior, Llew would opt for four custom bucket seats and a full-length custom console. The interior would carry on the mix of new and old, using black leather with red highlights and a touch of carbon fibre. The roof lining would be Alcantara, while the gauges would be replaced with a MoTeC electronic dash.

Is this the ultimate wagon? We think it must be getting damn close!