Description:

1975 IMSA Chevrolet Monza - 6,0L V8 - 650HP

In the seventies, Chevrolet Monza's participated in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) North American GT Series in the new All-American Grand Touring (AAGT) class, competing with, among others, the dominant Porsche 911 Carrera's. AAGT regulations were very liberal, requiring only the bare minimum of original components to be retained: basically just the windscreen, rear window and roof. The result was some very dramatic-looking racecars bearing only a passing resemblance to their road going cousins.
The most successful Monza's were those prepared with factory support by Lee Dykstra and American-based Australian Trans-Am driver Horst Kwech at Dekon Engineering. Development had begun late in 1974 when DeKon received Chevrolet's assistance in developing the racing Monza's tubular chassis frame. DeKon's Monza racers used the largest available engine - a 5,7L V8 - which when tuned and equipped with fuel injection produced around 600bhp.
6.0-litre engines with Weber carbs were also used.

The DeKon Monza made its racing debut at Road Atlanta on 20th April 1975 with Kwech driving but crashed. Nevertheless, the Monza's proved fast and competitive from the start, and after a promising debut season were ready for greater things in 1976. The man to realise the Monza's full potential would be Al Holbert, IMSA racer and a future Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours winner, who took seven victories on his way to lifting that year's IMSA Camel GT Championship. Five victories in 1977 saw him IMSA GT Champion for the second successive year. Holbert then moved on to Porsche but the Monza remained active in IMSA racing well into the 1980s, although there would be no more championship wins. Of the original 18 DeKon Monza's built, it is believed that only one or two have survived.

This Monza was built as close as possible to original IMSA specification by a French privateer and has been campaigned extensively. A regular production chassis from 1977 was used, although on the HTP the car is dated 1975. The build quality and the attention to detail are truly impressive. The GM V8 engine produces around 650bhp and the Monza has proven to be very competitive, capable of outrunning Porsches 935 and many other cars of its era.

This car really is very fast; out of four outings in 2021, it was racing in the top three on four occasions. In a very active racing career, the Monza has also competed at Le Castellet in 2017 and at Dijon in the Classic Endurance series in 2018/2019, and put in some strong performances at Le Mans Classic between 2016 and 2019. More recently, in June 2021, the famous Belgian racing driver Marc Duez drove this car in the Belcar Historic Cup at Spa Francorchamps, winning the race and setting the fastest lap at 2m40s!
This Monza was also driven to a 3rd place by Frederic Bouvy at the Circuit Paul Armagnac at Nogaro in July 2021.

An exciting prospect for any historic racing competitor, this spectacular IMSA Monza comes with an FFSA Passport dated 2010 and HTP dated 2014.

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