CHRIS MCPHIE’S RECOIL ’66 CHEVELLE

Ringbrothers has been blowing people away each year with its builds, and 2014 was no different with the over 5000 hours of top-quality labour poured into this year’s project, known as Recoil, a 1966 Chevy Chevelle. The car stood head and shoulders above almost every other vehicle at the show, in just about every aspect. One of the first things you notice is the stance, as the car sits low on its big boots — 19x9.5-inch front and 20x13-inch rear custom HRE wheels, wearing 275/30 and 345/30 tyres. That’s a lot of rubber, which on regular show cars is often all for show, whereas on Recoil every square inch is needed thanks to the fitment of a Whipple-blown 730kW (980hp) LS7 built by Wegner Motorsports. The interior is quite sparse, and carbon fibre is used extensively in this build. As well as looking incredible, the carbon bumpers, bonnet, a subtle boot spoiler, inner guards in the engine bay, wing mirrors, and other parts shave a lot of weight over what would normally be heavy steel items. Most of the carbon is clear coated to show off the characteristic weave of the fibres, except for the bonnet, which is mostly painted except for a central section of exposed carbon. Anywhere you looked there were details galore, like the dry-sump tank that was integrated so well into the engine bay that most people would probably assume it was filler for the radiator. Where this car really stood out though is in the interior, which is said to be inspired by a fighter-jet cockpit. It is very hard to break new ground with interior styling, and even harder to do it within an old car and still feel completely in harmony with the build, but Ringbrothers absolutely nailed it. Custom from floor to ceiling, it looks more race car than show car, with aluminium seats featuring multiple padded areas and a lot of exposed metal, rather than being fully covered. The theme was carried through with minimal trimming and no carpets, to instead showcase the finely crafted sheet-metal work and billet components everywhere. A Racepak dash completes the modern race feel, and to bring it back to reality as a functional street car, there is the full stereo and Vintage Air a/c system. Other neat parts include the custom tail lights, full custom sheet-metal work in the boot, and the custom-made steering wheel.