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The 22-year-old designer from Abimelec Designs pays homage to the 1974 Hemi-powered Challenger that was entirely hand-built by Glenn Bunch.

Speedkore Performance Group is immediately recognizable by its carbon fiber-covered custom muscle cars. The one you see in these pictures though needed some help from a young designer Abimelec Arellano.

Yes, Speedkore asked Abimelec Designs to recreate the glory from IMSA AA GT days, and what a beauty he delivered. Looking dark and mysterious, the Hemi-powered muscle is inspired by the designs of another custom hand-builder, Glen Bunch, which were actual race machines.

Challenging Chevy Monzas and Greenwood Corvettes, the ’74 Challenger-inspired ultimate IMSA AA GT Cuda is the perfect ode to big powerful muscle. Although just a concept vehicle, Speedkore could just commission this custom Plymouth, should it get enough inquiries! So just bug them until they make one for you.

Related: 9 Things We Just Learned About Speedkore's New 1000-Hp 1968 Charger Hellucination

They definitely do, a wide-body check, slick Goodyears check, blue roll cage check, and tilt forward hood check. The matte finish of its carbon fiber is on point and lends it that lightness reminding us of its race pedigree. Since it’s a custom you can have any engine-transmission setup imaginable, or even an overpowered electric motor with a boot full of batteries.

Even leaving it as a 74’ Challenger will be menacing enough to match its exterior. It depends on how much you like carbon fiber as the exterior finish on cars. It sometimes becomes a love or hate proposition, but we bet you’ll still approve the matte-finish grey finish Abimelec has given to the Cuda. It is not too glitzy and is possibly good enough for Batman to approve of his nightly escapades.

This design harks back to the early days of the IMSA AA GT series when racing used to be pure noise and tire smoke, not as clinical about lap times as it is now. Hence, this design works so well with those vintage race wheels and yellow headlamps. We have to commend the curvy sculpting of the side exhausts which merge so well with the relatively flatter design lines of the concept.

Ohh and did we mention the front tilting hood is an absolute charmer. You can pop it and show off your super-supercharged HEMI V8 sitting cozy in there. And yes, there’s enough intake space to have a steady flow of air for the engine. The rear wing or the bumper actually, should be able to deliver some decent amount of downforce for the rear tires to stick to the ground. This will be a great drag racing machine too, just a thought.

We know Speedkore is already thinking about commissioning this beast with its signature performance enhancement and addition of aerospace-grade components for lightness to make it the ultimate IMSA AAGT Cuda.

It is probably simpler to just strip a muscle car and lighten its body and interior, but what Speedkore does is design components carefully for superior fit and finish. Hence, Kevin Hart has got his bespoke 1000HP ‘Hellraiser’ from Speedkore. The question is about quality and actual performance which the brand adds extensively.

They meticulously design these all-American panels, line and fit them, and finish them to look absolutely stunning muscle cars. And this is not just hand beating shapes, there is a lot of cutting-edge software utilization for these complex carbon fiber components. You can safely presume the engine power development will be off the scale for most regular dynos, because why not.

Where we expect Speedkore to shine is in the transmission and suspension setup. There’s literally no advantage if the engine cannot put its power down on the road. So expect a sophisticated ZF unit along with Bilstein dampers to support the entire grunt. We’ll this is what we’re hoping, Speedkore know better so ask them for your custom setup.

Related: SpeedKore Put A Demon Engine Inside Its Carbon Fiber-Clad 1970 Dodge Charger

There is something extraordinary in having an IMSA AA GT custom in your collection. It is a period piece that carries the design ethos from a soon-to-be bygone era of fire breathing and oil-spitting V8s. Yep, nothing states bare-knuckle racing than Charlie Kemp’s wild AAGT Cobra II blowing smoke out the exhaust headers at Daytona.

Very soon all of this will convert to electric power, sorry torque, and lose its grandeur. We cannot thank brands like Speedkore, Hennessey, Ringbrothers, etc. enough for keeping the restomod scene lit.

As for Abimelec Arellano, he’s got a selection of beautiful designs and renders which show his creative prowess. The combination of Abimelec Designs and Speedkore putting out this Cuda concept looks like a great beginning. Now Speedkore just build the thing already.

And why not give it a performance-enhancing hybrid powertrain, sure the electronics are going to be a pain, but look what Ferrari did with the LaFerrari. We reckon Abimelec can now start working on Greenwood Corvettes and Dekon Monzas to keep it all in balance, for IMSA.

Sources: SpeedKore Performance And Abimelec Arellano Via Instagram, Dodge

Sarcastic, cynical and sometimes just comical, Abhijeet writes to titillate the reader's curiosity. He wants to make sure any vehicle you own swings between everyday practicality and dogmatic individualism. We're certain his pragmatism and humour will keep you engaged and informed about the past, present and future of the magnificent words of automobiles.