Click here to view high resolution photos https://www.flickr.com/gp/149927902@N02/Dk95q2899Z

1986 Chevrolet Camaro IMSA GTO

VIN: PRC-861

2nd of two carbon fiber tub Camaro race cars developed by Peerless Racing Enterprises

Advanced developments engineered from the 1st car built, #851

Bespoke carbon fiber tub with partially stressed-member engine

(5) 1st place finishes, 13 total podium finishes

Kevlar and fiberglass body developed in GM's wind tunnel

Front suspension featuring March Indycar componentry

Designed by Brad Francis and built by Peerless Racing Enterprises

Raced primarily by Jack Baldwin and Buz McCall

Formerly owned by Trans-Am and IMSA Champion Scott Pruett

Eligible for historic racing events including the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Extensive period Peerless Racing documentation, including purchase orders, marketing materials, and photographs

Ex-KaTech fuel-injected 5.8L V8 engine, 5-speed manual transmission

EXTENSIVE SPARES PACKAGE

What happens when a race team receives instructions to design and build a race car, but with secret factory backing and given essentially carte blanche to make it happen? You build two ground-breaking Chevrolet Camaro race cars for IMSA's GTO class, complete with IndyCar technologies that were unheard of for a GTO-class race car. Peerless Racing Enterprises, owned by Bob Carson and famously known for its driver Jack Baldwin, went down the path to develop the most advanced Chevrolet Camaro race cars ever built. This car, PRC-861 and the second of the two chassis, benefited from an incredible amount of development, secret funding and backing from Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group, and designed by none other than IndyCar and racing engineer mastermind and Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee, Brad Francis.

Peerless Racing Enterprises in the middle of 1985 had aspirations to design and build a carbon fiber race car, and pitched the concept car to Chevrolet with dreams of building more for customers. Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group greenlit the program, although taking a unique stance on the entire program. While there was no regard for cost to develop the ultimate Chevrolet Camaro, it was corporate policy that Chevrolet would not say that it was a factory-backed race car, nor would comment on their involvement. Even Chevrolet engineers, who in the future were dispatched to the track to provide engineering support, had to wear plain clothes with no corporate Chevrolet identification whatsoever!

Bob Carson, owner of Peerless Racing Enterprises, decided that it would make the most sense to retain George "Brad" Francis to engineer the Camaros. A self-taught engineer from Performance Engineering Limited, which at the time was Canada's most famous race shop, he found successes in IndyCar, Can-Am, NHRA, short track stock cars, and Trans-Am, ultimately playing a pivotal role in the successes of PRC-861.

Following the development of the carbon fiber Camaros was likely similar to watching a mad scientist at work, but with unlimited resources. Francis had come from the IndyCar world, and his entire mindset was using IndyCar technology as much as it was allowed. This included using March 85C IndyCar front suspension, carbon fiber technology for extreme weight reduction, using the engine as a stressed member, an experimental transmission and differential, to name a few. Bob Gosch, Peerless Racing Enterprises' former Operations Manager, provided a firsthand account of the program, describing the carbon fiber tubbed Camaros as "designed as an IndyCar, only backwards." A steel chassis was employed merely to meet IMSA regulations, with most of the strength of the chassis coming from the carbon fiber tunnel, with the carbon fiber panels bonded to the chassis with structural points and components. These were mounted to an aluminum front firewall motor plate, bonded to the firewall, with the partially stressed-member engine mounting to that, with the front suspension also mounted to the carbon fiber tub via the front firewall motor plate.

The first Peerless Racing Enterprises Camaro, PRC-851, was completed and began racing. Being the first car and essentially a prototype with no backup car, the car was not completely optimized and did not take any wins in the 1985 IMSA season. Despite this, Chevrolet then placed an order for this chassis, PRC-861, to be a turn-key race car on behalf of Ankor Racing. Francis went back to the engineering drafts to continually optimize and create an even better race car from everything they learned in 1985.

Factory support was immense. As an official road racing project that they could not be involved in, creative practices were taken in order to provide support. Bob Gosch recalls that fully built engines from Fischer Racing Engines would just appear on their loading dock, as well as tires and other supplies. GM's support via wind tunnel time to develop the bespoke and irreplaceable kevlar composite body, as well as the 26° windshield, could not be publicly talked about. In a stroke of genius and creative accounting, Chevrolet's entire budget for the program was hidden within Chevrolet's engine development budget. In order to test future engines, obviously they needed to build an entire car to test it in! They later tested experimental small cubic inch V8 engines with higher revving capabilities, and GM's famous magnetic ride shock absorbers (called Delco drive-adjustable, computer controlled shock absorbers) were developed on this Peerless Camaro and was the first race car to have them.

PRC-861 benefited from an incredible amount of development from both on and off the racetrack. Doubling down on weight savings, Francis looked at every component and system to see how it could be optimized. In an original document from Peerless Racing Enterprises, it outlines the design improvements for PRC-861 over the first chassis. This included weight savings from the lightweight front subframe, removal of firewall support tube, optimized carbon fiber components, fuel system relocation, optimized pedal brackets, and more. Just these changes alone yielded more than a 70lb weight deduction. Fischer Racing Engines, the builders of the Camaro's engines, even went through the trouble to shave off the sides of their engines to reduce weight for Francis. He even calculated the exact length of bolts required, and removed any additional metal from them! It also specified PRC-861's bodywork as being developed in GM's windtunnel for optimizer aerodynamics. The carbon fiber tub's floors were so thin for weight optimization that Francis required people to have nothing in their pockets if working on the inside in fear of puncturing the floor.

Near the completion of PRC-861 for Ankor Racing, Francis was upset that this car was better than their PRC-851 chassis with all the newly added development work, as Peerless Racing Enterprises would have to race against it. Ankor Racing was set to test PRC-861 at Laguna Seca prior to taking delivery. Ankor Racing sent two race car mechanics to work on and inspect the car, who later deemed PRC-861 as not a good car and refused to take it. It was later discovered that the "race mechanics" were freshly hired and did not know how to work on the vehicle. Francis contacted Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsport seeking race support, with City Chevrolet sponsoring the car for the first few races in the iconic bright red livery. Shortly after, Jack Baldwin redeemed the car and took it to pole position in the same exact setup at Laguna Seca. Peerless Racing Enterprises ended up campaigning PRC-861 and PRC-851 in the 1986 and 1987 seasons, with Francis getting his wish of keeping PRC-861 with their team.

Through the Levi Garrett sponsorship in late 1986, along with race support from Hendrick Motorsports in 1986 and 1987, PRC-861 took five 1st place finishes and 7 pole positions under the helm of Jack Baldwin, Geoff Bodine, and David Hobbs. Highly successful, PRC-861 was sold to Buz McCall's American Equipment Racing team at the end of the 1987 season. Baldwin continued to drive the car, now liveried with Skoal Bandit sponsorship, and often shared driving duties with owner Buz McCall. PRC-861 was campaigned through the 1988 and 1989 IMSA season. In 1990 and 1991, the Camaro became Chevrolet's show car, traveling with the NB Ventures exhibit. Stored until 1999, McCall's NASCAR facility restored the car from the ground up, including a fresh KaTech cup engine and in its Levi Garrett livery. Intending to drive it in historic races, he instead sold the car to Charlie Morgenthaler and Art Woodworth, Jr., who made PRC-861's first track outing since 1989 at the HSR's Legends of Daytona at the 2002 24 Hours of Daytona.

The Camaro found its most recent owner in the form of multi-IMSA and Trans-Am championship winner Scott Pruett. Pruett, famously driving the Ford Protofab Mustang in the IMSA GTO series against Baldwin's Camaros, acquired the car and kept it in his collection until the Camaro arrived at Canepa.

While some historic race cars might come with a few items, this 1986 Chevrolet Camaro comes with everything a modern vintage racer could want. Original documentation from Peerless Racing Enterprises with Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group, purchase orders, news articles, public relation documents, photos, and an extensive spares package are included with PRC-861 which is outlined in Canepa's photo gallery. It also, in a rare case of vintage race cars, was never campaigned in an SCCA series after its official racing career, but instead stored.

This 1986 Chevrolet Camaro IMSA GTO by Peerless Racing Enterprises represents the cutting edge of a race car developed in the GTO series in the mid-1980s. Backed by a secret partnership with Chevrolet-Pontiac-Canada Group, designed by hand by legendary designer Brad Francis, campaigned by Jack Baldwin for multiple years with several race wins, and with an extensive spares package allowing for a long future in vintage racing, this carbon fiber Camaro is a winning decision in modern vintage racing.