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Check Out This Awesome 1972 Convertible ‘Vette – Project Menace!

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The Pro Touring style of building custom cars has taken off like a Titan rocket – straight towards the sky, and for good reason. Taking some of history’s most-loved machines and reconstructing them with a modern set of underpinnings has many advantages, and few disadvantages; in fact, we can’t really think of any reason why this segment of the automotive enthusiast hobby doesn’t have a bright future.

With that said, let’s take a look at this incredible build we found over on Pro-Touring.com [2] – one of the homes for these car owners to chat about their cars and show them off, and one of our favorite destinations on the interwebs of late. Project Menace [3] is a sick 1972 Corvette convertible that’s being constructed at Heartland Customs [4] in Oklahoma for an owner across the pond in Holland.

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The car will be updated to include the latest in modern technology, not only underneath but also topside and under the hood. The chassis will be custom-built and feature 2011 ZR1 suspension, carbon ceramic brakes, and a ZR1 wheel and tire combination. In addition, the owner has specified that it include a removable carbon-fiber hardtop with panoramic roof, and even a speed-sensitive rear spoiler like the one found on the Bugatti Veyron, which deploys at speed to keep the downforce happening and retracts at lower speeds.

menaceenginebody [7]Under the hood, he’s got a LS9-supercharged LS7-based engine built by Brian Thomson Automotive [8] in Michigan that pounds out a whopping 811 horsepower and 824 foot-pounds of torque at only 3900 RPM. Boost-friendly 9.0:1 pistons reside atop an all-forged rotating assembly. All of the power will run through a Tremec [9] T-56 six-speed transmission.

On the inside, the interior is completely custom and has a long list of technology-derived creature comforts that blow the mind. An iPad is featured prominently in the dash, with functions for the climate control system, the audio system, and even display the data collected from the car’s sensors. A cell phone will be used to lock and unlock the doors, and once the driver is in the car he’ll be able to dock the phone in the integrated dock on the console. From there, the iPad will display exactly what is on the cell phone, and all apps and functions of the phone will be controllable through the iPad screen.

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Navigation, Pandora, all voice-activated functions including Siri, and hands-free calling will be integrated this way. Perhaps the coolest part? Once the destination is reached, a touch-start button on the iPad is activated and the car is turned off. The owner will be able to remove the phone and use it to lock the car, at which point the car is “put to sleep” and can’t be stolen.

menace11 [14]Seating surfaces will include our favorite material, Italian leather with Alcantara inserts and even heating and cooling functions. An analog tach/digital speedometer sits in the instrument cluster surrounded by a pair of 4.3-inch LCD touchscreens that will also display the car’s sensor data, displaying up to twelve sensors at one time. The LCD’s also feature the turn signals, exterior temp, and clock among others.

The car is not completed yet, but is expected to be finished and in Holland by the end of 2014. As you might imagine, building a car completely from scratch likes this takes cubic time and cubic dollars. Thankfully for us, car owner “Dennis the Menace” has both. Just an awesome machine – hit the link [3] and see the details for yourself!