Pro-Touring

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An example of a Pro-Touring build; a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro built for autocross with modifications including upgraded suspension and subframe, a 600hp 427ci LS engine and a carbon fiber front end. 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Tim McGilton 2013 Goodguys Southeastern Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway (cropped).jpg
An example of a Pro-Touring build; a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro built for autocross with modifications including upgraded suspension and subframe, a 600hp 427ci LS engine and a carbon fiber front end.

Pro-Touring is a style of classic muscle car with enhanced suspension components, brake system, drivetrain, and aesthetics, including many of the amenities of a new performance car. These modified muscle cars have been developed to function as well as, or to surpass, the capabilities of the foremost modern performance vehicles. Pro-Touring cars are built with an emphasis on function and are intended to be driven. Whether they are driven on the street, the race track, the drag strip, or through cones at an auto-cross is of no difference. [1]

Contents

History

Credit for coining the term ‘Pro-Touring' itself to define the emerging genre is widely attributed to Mark Stielow, GM Program Engineering Manager, and Car Craft magazine’s Tech Editor Jeff Smith, who was heading up Chevy High Performance magazine at the time. Mark Stielow can also take credit for helping grow the new concept through his own projects such as the white 1969 Chevrolet Camaro known as Tri-Tip that competed in the One Lap of America in 1993. The Camaro was widely covered and created a surge in interest, and once the term was put in print, it stuck. [2] Since that time, Stielow has built a number of trailblazing Chevrolet Camaros with names like "The Mule," "Red Devil" and "Mayhem," many of which have graced the covers of some of the industry's most beloved publications, including Hot Rod magazine, Car Craft magazine, and Popular Hot Rodding magazine, further fueling the pro-touring trend. [3]

Car Platforms & Models

There is no rule that says pro-touring machines have to be built from any particular car platform or car model. Historically, however, pony cars are the most popular type used. The perennial favorite model is the Chevrolet Camaro with, typically, the Chevrolet Camaro (first generation) cars being the preferred choice for builders, with the Chevrolet Camaro (second generation) reaching new levels of popularity these days. Other cars known to have been used are the Ford Mustang and the De Tomaso Pantera. [4]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey E Schwartz</span> American car builder

Jeff Schwartz is an American protouring car builder/designer and former professional road racer who brought to market the first Bolt-in Muscle Car Chassis for GM A-body cars. In his modified and equipped cars, Schwartz is a six-time winner of the Car Craft Magazine's Real Street Eliminator competition with his fifth and sixth win at the ProAm Invitational in Milwaukee, WI in 2015. In 2013, Schwartz won "Popular Hot Rodding Magazine's Muscle Car of the Year" with his 1981 Twin Turbo TransAm and was voted Car Craft Magazine's "Pro-Builder of the Year" with Jake Wallace's Twin Turbo 1967 Chevy Malibu. In 2017, Schwartz and his crew won his second Car Craft Pro-Builder Award with a right hand drive 1970 Cuda. He is the owner of Schwartz Performance in Woodstock, IL, the founder of the Schwartz Motocross History Museum in McHenry, IL and the father of two children.

References

  1. "Welcome To Pro-Touring.com FAQ". Pro-Touring.com. Retrieved 4 March 2006.
  2. "The Beginning of Pro-Touring? - Web Exclusive". Popular Hot Rodding Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  3. "GM Engineer Mark Stielow is Pro Touring's "Camaro Master"". TheBlock.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
  4. "SEMA 2013: The Art Of Pro Touring". SpeedHunters.com. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.