With so many restomods (old dogs, new tricks) and retromods (the other way around) out there, it’s extremely difficult to come up with a build that stands out these days. Nevertheless, it’s not impossible, as digital artist Carlos Pecino (aka ColorSponge) has shown thanks to his heavily remastered, Tarantino movie-inspired early-1970s Chevy Nova, a pixel work that goes by the name of “The Redrum”.
These days, it’s not just real-life builds that flood or daily feeds, it’s the same with renderings. In this ocean of pixels, there are some creations with tremendous potential and they say that whenever one of them makes it to the real world, angels come down from heaven and start prepping the drag strip for it. And if this Nova doesn’t bring the wings to the quarter-mile location, I don’t know what will.
Immediately, the CGI-remastered Chevy demonstrates that it masters the balance between the original factory styling and the fresh bits. For one, the muscle car has lost its front bumper and you can consider that a warning. Make sure to take it seriously, as the cowl hood now hides an LS3, with the V8 aided by a pair of turbos—as this Hoonicorn-nemesis 1973 Chevy Camaro shows, we’re far from looking at the artist’s first muscle rodeo.
The enlarged front wings bring a retro-rebellious widebody take, while the rust that’s present here and there pushes the patina button. And if you zoom in on the Mickey Thompson rubber wrapped around those steelies, you could swear these are photos of real tires.
And that’s because the artist reproduced the Mickeys from scratch. The same amount of dedication went into ensuring the LS3 swap is as accurate as possible, while the way in which the suspension components talk about added performance makes the belly of the beast just as impressive as the rest of it.
Now, having covered the work of digital artists for the better part of a decade now, I’ve noticed how difficult it is to ensure that people keep a project that has swallowed countless hours in their hearts, especially since our screens are flooded with real and digital builds on a daily basis.
The MHC (Make Haste Corp)
However, the Chevrolet Nova Redrum is well documented in a digital museum Colorsponge and fellow artist Ash Thorp have just launched (as the title states, this muscle beast is #19). Dubbed MHC (Make Haste Corp), the website presents the two friends’ creations, which used to be showcased via their individual channels until now.
And, those looking for an example on top of the ’73 Camaro mentioned above may appreciate this BMW Meta race truck taking the Bavarian brand into the world of off-road racing.
If you’ve looked at this car, especially the wider front end where those bars rule, and had the feeling that it spells trouble, you were right. After all, Colorsponge did create this after immersing himself in the 113 minutes of road mischief depicted in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof (2007).
And since we all love it when things come full circle, Colorsponge aims for this movie-infused muscle monster to come to the blacktop: “a blueprint for a future real build that hopefully one day I will be able to recreate”. And I can’t help but wonder how the Redrum Nova would like like tearing up the Hoonigan Burn Yard at night.
Now, having covered digital build #19, it’s time to zoom in on #20. Dubbed “The Dream”, this is Ash Thorp’s take on the MHC housewarming party and takes us back an extra decade to the original Ford GT.
