Carbon-fiber composites are nothing new. Born in the Cold War crucible of 1960s top-secret military programs, the material seemed to defy the laws of physics, providing strength and lightness an order of magnitude greater than steel. In the hot-rodding world, adding lightness is the same as adding power, which all these decades later makes carbon fiber the preferred nuclear option for high-end car builders. And yet, after years of refinement, the wider use of carbon fiber in hot-rodding, beyond peel-and-stick tchotchkes and cartoon-like aero bolt-ons, remains elusive despite the material's clear advantages.
And then Speedkore's Tantrum—an all-carbon-fiber, Mercury Marine-powered 1970 Dodge Charger—debuted at SEMA in 2015. It cost more than the GDP of a small country to build, but the public was enthralled. If this is what a genuine all-carbon-fiber hot rod looked like, the people would like more, please. SpeedKore quickly earned itself the reputation of being the source of bespoke carbon-fiber muscle cars, building a run of 1970 Dodge Chargers in carbon fiber, including Hellucination, Hellacious, Hellraiser, and Evolution.
Carbon Fiber Goes Viral
Meanwhile, one of SpeedKore's principals, David Salvaggio, who contributed significantly to the initial success of Tantrum and the company's other breakout vehicle, the Menace 1970 Cuda, moved out on his own to form Salvaggio Auto Design, which became known for its inspired carbon-fiber creations. among them the oddly named "Michael Meyers" 1969 Road Runner wheeled by comedian and MotorTrend host Kevin Hart. The carbon-fiber creations just kept coming. There would soon be carbon-fiber-bodied Dodge Redeyes disguised as 1968 Chargers from ExoMod, carbon-fiber Shelby GT500s and Shelby Cobras from Classic Recreations, and carbon-fiber Ford Broncos from Gateway Broncos.
After seven solid years of carbon-fiber masterpieces by the country's top shops, the public seemed resigned to the idea that a carbon-fiber hot rod was about as attainable as Donald Trump's solid-gold crapper. Then, at the 2022 SEMA show, a 1970 Dodge Charger carbon-fiber roller (defined here as a complete car, sans drivetrain and interior) was introduced to the public at the Dodge booth. A new company out of Yukon, Oklahoma, called Finale Speed was the newest player in the carbon-fiber muscle car movement, and they had just made a statement: Buy the body and the rolling chassis from us and finish the car yourself.
Chris Jacobs: The New Face of Carbon Fiber
In attendance was none other than Overhaulin' host and MotorTrend Mecum commentator, Chris Jacobs, who has now become Finale Speed's biggest fan—as well as its creative director and general contractor. "I was walking around SEMA, and of course my first stop is always the Dodge booth, being a Mopar guy, and I see this unbelievably gorgeous carbon-fiber '70 Charger and I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't stop looking at it. I was going around and around the car and finally a couple of guys in Finale Speed shirts came to me and, you know, they recognized me and we started talking."
Jacobs kept in touch with Finale and the mutual respect led to something unexpected: a job offer. Says Jacobs, "We were at the point where, hey, we would like to partner up with you, so that's exactly what we did. I became involved with them in a promotional capacity and that kind of general contracting role that I do was born."
The "Viral" Carbon-Fiber 1969 Camaro
It's been a year since that fortuitous meeting, and as the 2023 SEMA show approaches, Chris is excited about Finale Speed's new project: the carbon-fiber 1969 Camaro rolling-chassis kit. The company has been demonstrating these "kits" in the form of a complete project build called Viral, which we originally reported on here.
The exposed-weave carbon-fiber 1969 Camaro has no original 1969 Chevy parts inside other than its Chevrolet Performance-issued LT4 crate engine, and consists of Finale's Brothers Carbon-sourced body and panels, a Roadster Shop chassis with JRi coil-over shocks, a 3.70:1-geared 9-inch LSD Ford rear with Dutchman axles, a Bowler Transmission-sourced T56 Super Magnum 6-speed manual gearbox, Wilwood 6- and 4-piston 14-inch brakes, Dynamat sound treatment, Magnaflow exhaust, TMI-sourced seats, Forgeline VX3C-SL 18x10.5/18x12 wheels, and Toyo Proxes R888R rubber.
Carbon-Fiber Muscle Car Kits—$199K
And here's the first shocker: anybody can own one, for $349,000—or, if you're too late for this particular example, Finale can build you one just like it. Of course, that's the fast and easy way out and doesn't expose its owner to the best part of the deal. For inveterate tinkerers the option of buying a roller version of the all-carbon-fiber 1969 Camaro may be a better plan. At a price of $199,000, the basic roller (Brothers carbon-fiber body, Roadster Shop chassis, rolling stock, Wilwood brakes, and suspension) leaves you with a lot of runway to install a driveline of your own creation. This deal from Finale Speed mirrors the same packages and prices offered in the 1970 Dodge Charger version.
In the year since Jacobs' introduction to Finale Speed, he's been working to spread the news and even appeared on a recent segment of Jay Leno's Garage to promote Finale's Viral 1969 Camaro (above). We asked Chris about his creative director role—a role we're not that familiar with—and he told HOT ROD, "I try to bring people together, people who I have come to know in the industry that can benefit us, you know, for instance Roadster Shop."
Those who have watched Chris through his career know what a positive force he can be for bringing disparate people and companies together for worthwhile projects on a tight deadline, and that's proved indispensable. "We've got a great relationship with Dodge, obviously. They're big believers in our Charger. So what I try to do—my contribution—is bring the manufacturers together to put together the best custom cars."
SEMA 2023—Is This Finale's Breakout Year?
This year's SEMA show will be the litmus test for Chris's one-year anniversary with Finale Speed. The stakes are high: "We're hoping to make a big splash at SEMA next month and we're going to have three cars there," says Jacobs. "We're going to have one car in the TMI booth [24677—ed.], which is the provider of our interiors. We'll have our Charger, which is now complete, at U.S. Wheels' booth [22381—ed.], and U.S. Wheels is going to debut a wheel on our Charger. The Charger was actually our inaugural debut at SEMA last year at the Dodge booth. The third car we have is, we're doing a convertible Camaro now, which will be in a dark orange color with the exposed carbon fiber and that will be in the Dynamat booth. [22593—ed.]"
On Being Finale's Goodwill Ambassador
Another Finale Speed hat that Jacobs wears bears the title of "general contractor," which conjures up the image of a guy in a hardhat barking orders at workers tying rebar. As much as you may want (or not want!) a celebrity under your car's dash laying out a wiring harness, that's not the idea here. Jacobs: "I've been in this business for 20 years now, unbelievably. We started Overhaulin' 20 years ago. Over those years I've cultivated relationships. I am kind of the liaison between Finale Speed and these companies and so I'm kind of just there to support Finale in the relationship."
Massive Mass Reduction
Let's not forget the elephant in the living room either: the high-performance benefits of carbon fiber. "If you're just comparing the steel panels to carbon-fiber panels, the weight of those, we're saving about 750 pounds off the curb weight of your traditional Camaro," says Jacobs. "So we've got that curb weight down to about 2,800 pounds. Then you throw in a 650 hp, 650 lb-ft of torque supercharged LT4. You're looking at a pretty significant horsepower-to-weight ratio and that just makes the car really fun to drive.
"I'm not a big proponent of huge horsepower. I'm not looking to put thousand-horsepower engines in cars—I just don't think it's necessary. I think it's more of something that sounds cool to say but are you really going to use a thousand horsepower when you're driving around, going to the car show? No. You want it to be functional. Sure, you want it to be fast, but do you really need more than 650 hp? No. Finale Speed cars are made to be drivers. We want people to go to the garage and feel confident in taking their car out.
Putting Carbon Fiber's Cost in Perspective
We love high-end muscle cars here at HOT ROD, and yet we're also sensitive to the needs of more ordinary hot-rodders doing things the independent, DIY way. One might reasonably ask, isn't a carbon-fiber recreation muscle car a bit pricey? Jacobs makes a couple of valid points in his response: "Expensive is a relative thing. You know the custom car world as well as I do. You can get up into the $750,000-to-a-million-dollar range. You come to Finale Speed and you can get out the door from us for $349,000. So in the spectrum of expense, we're probably on the low end. This is obviously a luxury item, so guys who are buying our cars, you know, they're not taking a second mortgage on their house to be able to buy our cars, they're going to be able to afford it anyway."
We had to ask Chris (the owner of a fabulous 1968 Plymouth GTX we featured here) if a new Finale Speed creation is in his personal future, perhaps forgetting for a moment that he's just a regular working stiff like us, and he set us straight: "I can't afford one right now but I'm certainly willing to take anybody's project car for a test drive. I do not have one on order—I have a two-year-old daughter—so my car budget has been transferred to her future. But you never know. We play the lottery regularly and maybe we'll get lucky!"
Viral 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Specs
Drivetrain
- Engine: LT4 GM Performance 6.2-liter crate engine
- Output: 650 horsepower
- Pulley System: Wegner
- Fuel Management: GM
- Fuel Pump: VaporWorx
- Fuel Cell: Rick's Tanks, 18-gallon
- Transmission: TREMEC T-56 Super Magnum six-speed manual, McLeod twin-disc cutch
- Chassis: Roadster Shop
- Rearend: Ford 9-inch, 31-spline Dutchman axles, 3.70 gear ratio, with Positraction LSD
Cooling System
- Radiator: Wizard Cooling
- Fans: Two 13-inch electric fans
Exhaust
- Type: Dual 2.5-inch mandrel-bent stainless-steel
- Headers: Ultimate Headers stainless-steel long-tube
- Exhaust Manufacturer: Custom exhaust with MagnaFlow mufflers
Steering
- Type: Rack-and-pinion
- Column: Flaming River tilt column
Suspension
- Front & Rear: Roadster Shop
- Sway Bars: Oversized Roadster Shop front and rear
- Shocks: FOX coil-overs
Wheels and Tires
- Front Wheels: 18x10.5-inch Forgeline three-piece VX3C-SL
- Rear Wheels: 18x12-inch Forgeline three-piece VX3C-SL
- Front Tires: Toyo Proxes R888R Z-rated 315/30/18
- Rear Tires: Toyo Proxes R888R Z-rated 335/30/18
Brakes
- Front: Six-piston Wilwood calipers with 14-inch slotted, cross-drilled, and vented rotors
- Rear: Four-piston Wilwood calipers with 14-inch slotted, cross-drilled, and vented rotors, and adjustable rear proportioning valve
Electrical
- Battery: Trunk-mounted Optima battery
- Ignition: GM
- Wiring Harness: American Auto Wire
Exterior
- Paint Manufacturer: BASF Glasurit Clear
- Body Panels: Prepreg carbon-fiber
- Taillights: LED
- Glass: Flush-mount glass
- Trim: Eddie Motorsports billet hinges and handles
Interior
- Seats: TMI VXR Pro
- Seatbelts: Four-point camlock
- Door Panels: TMI custom Alcantara-wrapped
- Gauges: Classic Instruments
- Console: Custom Alcantara-wrapped
- Steering Wheel: Leather-wrapped aluminum
- Climate Control: Old Air Products
- Interior Extras: Carbon rear-seat delete, custom four-point rollbar, Alcantara headliner
Audio System
- Radio: Alpine head unit
- Amp: Mosconi five-channel
- Speakers: Focal
- Subwoofer: Focal
Photos Contribution By David Campbell, Drew Phillips and Jorge Guasso
October 24, 2023 at 01:12AM
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