Chevy 56 with a TRD 650-horsepower Toyota engine

Within the fascination that Americans feel for the 1955-1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air coupé (which I find hard to understand, since there are American classics more advanced and more beautiful than the Bel-Air) is the swapping of engines and some drivetrain components for modern engines and parts.

This 1956 Chevy is no exception. On the outside it remains exactly like the fifties Bel-Air (apart from the added wheels), but if we look at its heart and part of its innards, we will see that Toyota Racing Development has had a great deal to do with making it out of the ordinary.

The chosen engine is not only Japanese—some staunch defenders of classics and muscle cars in the US must be tearing their hair out over the sacrilege—but it is also the most powerful available from Toyota, and prepared to boot: no less than the 5.7-litre V8 used in the Craftsman Truck Series of NASCAR.

On the other hand, the level of perfection achieved with the car’s exterior is impeccable. Since it’s the first thing you look at, it’s the first thing that catches your attention. Then you lift the hood and find this V8 beauty, with the same colours as the engine bay…

This coupé is part of the car collection of Cars of Dreams in Florida, which will be put up for sale in December. It is estimated it could fetch the nice sum of over $100,000 at auction.