1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Looks Best With BMW M Paint Over Extreme Custom Work

At times spelled Z/28, the moniker stands for nothing more and nothing less than a special performance package introduced that same year to make the Camaro more appealing for the people in the market for a performance muscle car styled to match.

The package included anything from more potent engines and more responsive transmissions to performance brakes and forced air induction. At the time of writing Camaro buyers can't get their hands on a Z28, as Chevy seems to have developed a new fondness for something called the ZL1, but there are plenty of muscle cars wearing this badge in the custom segment of the industry.

Camaro Z28s of old are aplenty in this world, in various shapes, sizes and colors, and its generally very hard for anyone to pick a favorite. But just look at and read a bit about this here example, and you too will become convinced this is the king of all Z28s that came to light in recent months.

The car was built for the 2019 SEMA show, where it adorned the stand of detailing specialist Mothers. It was assembled by a custom garage called Sean Smith Designs starting from a 1971 Camaro. Sean Smith is a name you might be familiar with, most recently thanks to a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro called Fenix made for Kevin Hart.

The muscle car was made in such a way as to blend American styling cues and European luxury details. The bodywork, for instance, is a mix of old-school Camaro touches, custom work, and a paint job based on Sakhir Orange Metallic, a color often seen on BMW M cars.

The standard look of the Camaro was sharpened with the fitting of bumpers and spoiler that blend right into the bodywork, to the point they are almost invisible, flush-mounted glass all around, and an impressive grille at the front.

To either side of it there are HID headlights that from the correct angle look like the eyes of a feline. Underneath each of them, there are air scoops meant to feed air to the braking system of the Baer variety. It is in these scoops where the builder fitted the DRLs and turn signal lights.

The interior is just as impressive, and it too is a reference to European carmaking. That's because the material used to cover the seats, steering wheel, and even the roll bar, is something called Lamborghini Nero Perseus, a material made by a company called Hydes Leather.

Ahead of the seats there is a billet machined steering wheel, and between them a center console with illuminated switches styled just like the ones in the Ford GT40. Special Sparc Industries gauges in brushed nickel have been installed in the custom dashboard.

All of the above, impressive as it is, would have been nothing without a proper engine under the hood. This Z28 relies on a custom-built LSX engine. It's 454ci in displacement, and connected to a 6-speed manual transmission and GM Positraction rear end.

As fitted on this Chevy, the powerplant is rated at no less than 720 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, sent out screaming through a 3-inch stainless TIG-welded exhaust system.

The engine spins HRE 3-piece wheels shod in Michelin Pilot Sport tires. Behind each wheel there's a suspension system to die for, a combination of Detroit Speed Quadralink hardware and JRI coilovers, sprinkled with a touch of heavy-duty sway bars.

After it was shown at the 2019 SEMA, the 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 took the usual route and was part of several other shows. During some of them, it even snatched some awards: the Builder's Choice Award at the 2020 and 2021 Goodguys Muscle Machine of the Year, first place at the Reno Hot August Nights that same year (2021), and first place in the interior competition at the 2022 Grand National Roadster Show.

We're talking about this incredible build today because it's just days away from going under the hammer. Auction house Mecum has it listed as one of the stars of the sale it will hold in Las Vegas at the end of this week.

We get no info on how much the car is expected to fetch, and we also lack the information about how much it cost to put together. All that means it's hard to give you an estimate on how much people will be willing to pay for it.

We will of course keep an eye out for what happens in Vegas, and we will update this story once we learn how much the Z28 went for.