650hp Ringbrothers Pontiac GTO to stun SEMA
You might have seen one or two classic Pontiacs before - nothing quite like the 'BILLIE' goat...
There are in fact three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and at least one awesome build from Ringbrothers at every SEMA show. Here’s the latest, a car that began life as a 1965 Pontiac Tempest - but now, 5,500 hours later, is simply known as BILLIE, the ultimate GTO. Or Billie, as we’ll use from now on. The client wanted GOAT, as in Greatest Of All Time, which wouldn’t be unreasonable given the look of this thing (and it has the letters GTO) - but isn’t as cool as Ringbrothers’ usual monikers. So they went back with Billie, as in Billy Goat, and it stuck.
As always with a Ringbrothers project, it’s hard to know where to start with the Pontiac as so much has been modified to such an extraordinary standard. The body is now carbon fibre, but even more remarkably it’s actually five inches wider than standard - a significant chunk of the 5,500-hour build time went into getting that width to work with the unmistakable proportions of a GTO. Jim Ring added: “We spent countless hours massaging the factory lines, reshaping the fenders and refining how every panel transitions into the next. There's a massive amount of fabrication hidden beneath the subtle touches in the design. The goal was to make those changes feel completely natural and organic, as if Pontiac had built it this way.” The fact that it looks like merely the best GTO you’ve ever seen - and not a ground-up recreation - means it’s mission very much accomplished.
Neat touches, as always, abound. The bumpers are now custom, the panel for the rear lights is one piece of machine billet aluminium, and there’s a carbon rear diffuser with integrated exhaust ducts. You’d be worried if anyone else had modified a GTO with carbon fibre, but as it’s Ringbrothers you know it will have been done considerately and stylishly - which is exactly what’s happened. The colour is Billie Goat Blue, from BASF Glasurit.
Power comes courtesy of a Chevrolet LT4 from Wegner Motorsports. As a reminder, that’s the same engine that’s made such a name for itself in an assortment of racy Chevys and Cadillacs over the past decade or so. With 650hp and 650lb ft, it’ll lend the GTO a level of performance from another planet compared to the original V8s. Some of these Pontiacs left the factory with 2-speed (!) autos, and none had more gears than four; Billie has 10 automatic gears. Ringbrothers have built the exhaust themselves, so expect an outrageous level of V8 fury.
Underpinning the Pontiac are the very latest in chassis and brake technology. Which means that it’s surely now as far from original as it’s possible to be (it was originally a Pontiac Tempest) but, well, in for a penny - if you’re going to modify, may as well make it as good as this. There’s now a Roadster Shop Fast Track Stage III chassis underneath, as well as Brembo brakes and Fox coilovers. Those very smart (and massive: 19-inch front, 20-inch rear) wheels sit on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. The burnouts will be spectacular, but it might also corner as well.
And this being a Ringbrothers build, the custom work doesn’t stop there for Billie. Inside the dash sits four inches further forward and two inches lower, accommodating front occupants better (and surely accounting for another significant chunk of the build time). There’s new aluminium trim, a digital dash, a reworked original radio with Bluetooth and what’s called an ‘olive wood espresso portafilter-inspired shifter’. You never have to look far with a Ringbrothers build to see where extraordinary amounts of time, effort and love have been spent. “More than 5,500 hours went into bringing Billie to life, and the result speaks to the design and extraordinary craftsmanship of our team,” continued Jim Ring. “We're also grateful to our trusted partners, including Gentex, HRE Wheels and BASF, whose support and expertise helped make this remarkable build possible.” After SEMA this will be on the way to its very lucky owners - and we’ll get thinking about what next year’s Ringbrothers epic might be…
The car itself looks like any other modified Pontiac GTO.
Except they're even more focused on performance and usability too.
That it looks 'like any other' modded GTO when it's 5" wider throughout is testament to how incredibly good they are. Each car they do is a one off work of art.
The car itself looks like any other modified Pontiac GTO.
Absolutely stunning!
Fabulous looking thing.
I'll take the Pontiac too.
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