TUSK BY RINGBROTHERS IS ONE OF THE COOLEST '69 CAMAROS ON THE PLANET WITH A 746 KW HELLEPHANT POWERPLANT AT THE HELM.
When it comes to the world of SEMA, there are a few automotive outfits that have reached legendary status thanks to the quality of their workmanship and outstanding design cues and ideas. One of these companies goes by the name of Ringbrothers, and as the name subtly suggests, it’s made up of the Brothers Ring, Jim and Mike. A pair of small-town boys from Plain, Wisconsin have honed their skills to surpass the level of expert, so much so that they now specialise in show-winning automotive builds. It’s hard to explain their builds, but the word ‘perfection’ springs to mind. Luckily for us, when they complete a build for SEMA, they make sure to have a proper photoshoot done so that their work can be properly appreciated by those who don’t have the means to see the cars in the metal. The brothers also have a knack for assigning their creations a fitting name. In the past, we’ve seen a ‘64.5 Mustang called Caged, a ‘48 Chevy pickup called Enyo and a ‘72 Chevy blazer called Bully, among others. The show-stopping build for the 2023 leg of the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas goes by the name of Tusk, and it’s easily one of the coolest ‘69 Dodge Chargers on planet Earth. While that name does seem a little weird, when you see what’s been done to the car it starts to make sense. This build received an engine transplant in the form of a Hellephant powerplant - the monstrous supercharged 7.0-litre V8 Mopar Crate HEMI. Hence Tusk, like on an elephant.
This year’s out-of-the-box creation from Ringbrothers is another of their famed muscle car builds, and the duo has managed to give the ‘69 Camaro more street-cred than you’d think was possible. The mirror-like plant paint offset with gold accents and matching gold custom HRE wheels is a flawless look, and if things looks a little different but you just can’t put your finger on why, it’s likely because the wheelbase has been extended, as have the fenders and rockers. The new body panels are made from carbon fibre as is the scooped two-piece bonnet. A single billet machined chrome piece was used for the signature Camaro hideaway grille. Some carbon fibre was left exposed, because that’s just cool. Tusk rides on Fox RS SV coilovers and through the wheels you can spot some 6-pot Baer brakes. Added billet side vents in the fenders help dissipate brake-induced heat. The interior still has a muscle car look and feel to it, the retrimmed seats and panels still have the late 60’s design but adding a modern touch is an array of new gauges and switches with carbon fibre used for the transmission tunnel. The steering wheels is a work of carbon fibre art, and the dual 12 o’clock markings match the gold exterior accents. That Hellephant powerplant sits in a smooth engine bay and everything matches the black paint and small piece have been finished in more of the same contrasting gold. It’s a crate motor, and besides having 746 kW and 1,288 Nm on tap without having to fiddle with it, only 100 of them were made available to the public. The entire package is motoring perfection, which is what happens when experts at the level of the Ringbrothers spend around 5,000 hours on a SEMA project.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the crew at Oberk Car Care as they prepare Tusk, the awesome build by Ringbrothers for the 2023 SEMA show. THere's no better way to see a car up close than with a video from a professional detailer, don't you think?: Behind the Scenes - Detailing Ring Brothers 2023 SEMA build "Tusk" | Oberk Car Care
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel here for more exciting and exclusive SXdrv content! And don't forget to smash that subscribe button!