No other American muscle car has accumulated the cachet on the Nevada highways like Big Red. This brilliant red 1969 Chevy Camaro took on European exotics, multimillion-dollar sports cars and lived to tell the tale. This is the tale of high-speed rebellion, far more than a little sibling rivalry and plenty of serious engineering effort and all of it helped fuel a movement in the performance car world. Now, the great Camaro is back and eager to do it all again.

Big Red’s story starts with a crash in Mexico, goes through record runs in the Nevada desert, then settles into a well-deserved stay in a museum. Along the way we take a close look at the machine’s engine, drivetrain, chassis and brakes that helped make Big Red so special, with each element in the build process echoing the Gottlieb family’s passion for building a machine faster and tougher than anything else on the road. Both the story and the hardware behind Big Red go a long way in explaining why the iconic open road machine is still so revered. Here are ten chapters in Big Red’s story and design.

1. The Silver State Classic Shock in Ely, Nevada

The Silver State Classic in Ely, Nevada, was a playground for European exotica and million-dollar sportscars. Big spenders drag their Ferraris, Porsches, and Panteras into the dead-end desert town, hoping they’ve brought a red Italian machine that will take the honours for highest speed on this deserted stretch of open highway. Then the ambient buzz of thousands of people talking on the football field at the local high school was suddenly ripped apart by an ominous, earth-shaking roar. That was the unmistakable sound of a high-compression big-block Chevrolet coming to life.

Silver State Classic Scene:

• Held in Ely, Nevada
• Meant for European exotics
• Ferraris, Porsches, Panteras attended
• Big Red arrived by trailer
• Parked beside Dan’s ’91 Corvette

In front of everyone, R.J. Gottlieb pushed Big Red out of his trailer and watched spectators stare in disbelief. The blazing bright red 1969 Chevy Camaro slowly rolled over to the empty space beside his father Dan’s hot-rodded ’91 Corvette. No one believed an American muscle car would get the best of the exotic cars assembled at the show. With its appearance and roar, Gottlieb was beginning a show that would be spoken of for years to come.

2. The 1989 Record Run That Rewrote the Rules

The day in 1989 when Big Red rewrote the rule book on open road racing: On that glorious day in 1989, now closed to the public, R.J. Gottlieb piloted Big Red down the 94-mile length of the famous route. Big Red covered the course in 27 minutes and 54 seconds, averaging 197.99 mph with a 222 mph radar-truthed top speed-arguably unthinkable for a full-sized American car. Big Red shattered the full-sized American car record, setting the new benchmark for the street lifestyle muscle car.

1989 Record Run Numbers:

• Passenger Joe Pettitt rode along
• 94-mile course conquered
• Finished in 27 minutes, 54 seconds
• Averaged 197.99 mph
• Radar-verified 222 mph top speed

The European supercar owners, who had until then written the vehicle off as a silly, gaudy American hot rod, now realized there was nothing they could do to beat this unstoppable, domestic juggernaut. Big Red didn’t merely win the race, it utterly crushed the rest of the field. This result did not go unnoticed. This would cement the Camaro in racing folklore. Big Red was a road legend from that point onward.

3. The Origins of the Original Big Red

Ironically, the Big Red line originated about two years before Big Red itself, with the creation of the original Big Red. That rig was a 1969 Camaro with a roll cage and a John Lingenfelter-built 800-horsepower 540-cubic-inch big-block capable of going faster than 200 mph. Big Red made its first appearance at La Carrera Road Race of 1988, an all-out 120-mile blast through Ensenada, Mexico. R.J. Gottlieb, in the driver’s seat, along with co-driver Chris Kaufmann, started third off the line and quickly grabbed the lead of the two cars immediately ahead of him and pursued the bikes that started ahead. It was fast and furious right out of the box.

Original Big Red Facts:

• 1969 Camaro with roll cage
• 800-horsepower Lingenfelter 540 engine
• Debuted at 1988 La Carrera
• Started third on the grid
• Crashed near race end

But on the final laps, the car went off the track and was involved in an accident. The bodywork was left in ruins despite the pilot walking away unharmed. This was a tragic demise for a promising debut, which could have marked the end of the project, but it laid the foundations for an even bolder rebuild.

4. Rebuilding as Big Red Two

Never one to back down, Dan and R.J. Gottlieb jumped on the internet and purchased a new 1969 body within seconds of the crash. They hired fabricator Bill Osborne with Inland Chassis Design to build the new body. Osborne assembled a new full stock car-style tube chassis utilizing 2×3-inch rectangular tubing framerails to manage the highest of speeds. Larry Mollicone freshened the 540 big-block/jerico four-speed combination, and the new build was assembled to be even more stout than the first. It was a statement that said we are not finished yet.

Big Red Two Build:

• Fresh 1969 body sourced
• Bill Osborne built tube chassis
• Larry Mollicone freshened engine
• Jerico four-speed transmission
• Kept all-steel body

It may not be a bare-bones race car but Big Red Two did get an all-steel body, doors that actually opened and closed, roll-up windows, a stock dash and leather-wrapped Recaro buckets. All that, along with the heavy-duty stock car chassis architecture and traditional muscle look, made the car one of the coolest things at drag strips in the late ’60s. It had the look of the street but the package of a purpose-built race car and that became its trademark.

5. Big Red and the Birth of Pro Touring

Pushing the limits of the tarmac, Big Red also launched a whole new movement in performance car circles. Prior to Big Red’s appearance, most street cars weren’t able to deliver such brakes while sporting such a wide rolling footprint. One look at a full-body 1969 Camaro tracking high-speed courses lit a fire under builders like Mark Stielow, who built the famous 1969 Camaro that competed in the 1993 One Lap of America. That Camaro helped coin the term “Pro Touring” with Jeff Smith.

Pro Touring Influence:

• Inspired builder Mark Stielow
• 1993 One Lap of America Camaro
• Pro Touring term popularized
• Coined alongside Jeff Smith
• Also called “g Machines”

Whether it is considered a Pro Touring creation or a “g Machines” project by other car magazines, the high-horsepower, corner-carving muscle car of today’s custom car scene all have one thing in common: the 1969 Southern California-built bright red Camaro. Its domination of power, stopping and grip redefined what many thought was possible. It proved that a traditional musclecar could be fast in the straights and just as capable in the corners. And this still influences the custom car scene to this very day, courtesy of Big Red.

6. The 1990 Victory and Years in the Museum

In 1990, Big Red made a return trip to Nevada, bringing home another Silver State Classic win, averaging 189.25 mph for the fastest top speed of 208 mph in spite of a damaged intake valve. This proved that the Red Car could win even when something was broken. It proved that the 1989 performance was no fluke. They established the Camaro as a force to be reckoned with on the open road. Racer fans became more and more aware of the Red Car.

1990 Victory and Museum Years:

• Returned to Nevada in 1990
• Averaged 189.25 mph
• Top speed reached 208 mph
• Bad intake valve suffered
• Museum loan lasted eight years

After that race, R. J. Gottlieb turned his attention to Super Production with other cars. The historic Camaro was loaned to Don Laughlin’s Auto Museum in Laughlin, Nevada in 1996 where it sat in mothballs for eight years. The car was then divorced from the roar of racing, sitting in the museum to be admired by visitors as a historic piece of racing history. Its next chapter had to wait for several more years.

7. The Restoration and Comeback

After languishing at Don Laughlin’s Auto Museum for eight years, Chris Kaufmann jokingly told Dan Gottlieb to “just blow off the dust” and take the Camaro to a couple of car shows. That led to the full restoration, which more than one person half-jokingly said he and his teammates decided to do a “little bit more” with the big red machine. They came to the conclusion Big Red deserved much more than an offhanded retirement.

Big Red’s Revival:

• Chris Kaufmann suggested shows
• Became full-blown restoration
• Reignited Gottlieb competitive hunger
• Updated for modern competition
• Targets supercars, Pro Touring cars

Cleaning this historic machine back to glory rekindled the competitive fire within Dan and R.J. Gottlieb. They redressed the legend for another dine and dash of Italian delicacies, followed by an eye pop of Pro Touring posers as dessert. It wasn’t about just having Big Red on display; these guys wanted to race it again. The converted Camaro would contend with the exotics it defeated in the past and even the newcomers it inspired. That’s a major vote of confidence for any vehicle, let alone one with such a legacy.

8. The Z2Z Big Red Challenge

While all of this was extremely grueling for its final unveil, the grand scene for its eventual re-entry is the Z2Z Big Red Challenge in Ely, Nevada, held along with the Silver State Classic Challenge on a 2-mile course. This dangerous event is an adrenaline surge for the quintessential 0-100-0 shootout. Participants must propel from a standstill to 200 mph and then right back down to zero as quickly as they can. It’s truly the ultimate test of bringing a vehicle up to speed and then bringing it back down again. The event is a perfect stage for a car like Big Red.

Z2Z Challenge Details:

• Held in Ely, Nevada
• Run on 2-mile course
• Standing start to 200 mph
• Winner holds Z2Z Perpetual Trophy
• Name etched into trophy base

After returning home, the winner receives the Z2Z Perpetual Trophy for a year with a name inscribed on the base. It is the beginning of R.J. Gottlieb’s plan of turning Big Red loose on the streets at open track events. The idea is to annihilate anyone willing to try. The event takes the car to a familiar place where it made history and begins a new chapter for the Camaro.

9. Engine and Drivetrain Engineering

Through the cowl is a work of mechanical art made from a Donovan aluminum block. The engine was stuffed with a 4.250-stroke King crank, heavy-duty Carrillo rods, and 4.50-inch JE pistons for a total of 540 ci. The Airflow Research heads, Dart intake topped with a Pro Systems Dominator carb, and headers connected to Borla mufflers complete the high-compression big-block Rat motor that produces a stunning 874 horsepower and 655 lb-ft of torque at 7,000 rpm. Each engine component was engineered to survive the forces of high speed, and the powerplant does just that.

Engine Specifications:

• Donovan aluminum block, 540 cubic inches
• 874 horsepower produced
• 655 lb-ft of torque
• Airflow Research cylinder heads
• Pro Systems Dominator carburetor

Which is the point at which you’d need some performance to spare. There’s a traditional Jerico four-speed crash box and an RPS Stage IV clutch, along with a Cyn-R-G segmented flywheel and a carbon-carbon dual-disc pack. Power heads out through a full-floating 9-inch Ford rearend with 31-spline gun-drilled axles. Our crew gets to choose between ring-and-pinion ratios based on the target: 3.25:1 gears for closed-track tests, 2.79:1 gears for the Z2Z Challenge race, and 2.49:1 for wild-open-road races with an eye on any car the other guys can send after them which they manage to do at speeds exceeding 220 mph.

10. Chassis, Brakes, Body, and Interior

The frame itself provides the structure needed to handle those extreme loads. It was custom built by Bill Osborne of Inland Chassis Design and consists of two-by-three-inch rectangular tubing framerails. The suspension setup consists of coilovers built using Grigg’s Racing shocks and Vogtland springs on all four corners, a Stiletto rack-and-pinion steering, and a Speedway Engineering tubular sway bar on the front and a three-link with a panhard bar in the back. With a chassis like that, the machine has the stability to perform at those high speeds, and the Camaro can tackle corners with confidence. The car is as capable as the engine it carries.

Chassis and Brake Highlights:

• Coilovers with Grigg’s shocks
• Vogtland springs on corners
• Baer 6S six-piston calipers
• 14-inch brake rotors
• 335/30ZR-18 tires all around

Of course, you need the stopping power, and sponsor Baer Racing does just that, with 6S six-piston calipers squeezing massive 14-inch rotors. The huge brakes are tucked behind high-tech, old-school 18-inch BBS three-piece wheels with magnesium centers and shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-Fiorano rubber of 335/30ZR-18 dimension all around-including the front. To match the aggressive stance, Mike Face Auto Painting shot the all-steel, bone-stock ’69 Camaro RS body and fiberglass cowl-induction hood in red paint with famous white Z/28 stripes, while the interior is completely shockingly comfortable and reflective of a stock ’69 Camaro, with its original dash pad, custom pedals, full roll cage, and comfortable leather-covered Recaro seats from 1988. The legendary icon has been formally resurrected, locked, and loaded to crush exotic tails wherever high speed reigns.