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It's all about durability testing... Officially, of course, this car was built to evaluate prototype components in a heavy-duty setting. The unofficial version is that we wanted to build a stripped-down, overpowered, bad-to-the-bone hot rod to beat on at the racetrack.

Shortly after work on the Ban III prototype was unveiled at the '07 YearOne Experience, planning began for the construction of a Ban III Test Car. This car would primarily serve as a rolling test bed for new components being developed for the Ban III level cars. Initial plans were to use the prototype, all-aluminum 8.8 liter Pontiac V8 from Butler Performance, a new dual-disc clutch system from Ram, and a strengthened Tremec TKO 600 5-speed from Pro-Motion. During the initial build stages, we also took delivery of the newly developed hydroformed front subframe from Detroit Speed & Engineering, so it was bolted and welded in place as well.

The body chosen for the Test Car was a 1978 hardtop car deemed to be too rough for use as a production BRE Trans Am. Since the car would live almost entirely on the racetrack, we figured a few rough edges here and there wouldn't be a big deal. After all, once you send a car out on track with the idea of running it hard, don't be suprised if it comes back wadded up on a flatbed.

Anyway, we tried to optimize the package for performance by stripping the car down. There are no bumper supports front or rear. There's no HVAC system unless you count windows that roll down. No radio, no sound deadener, just a little carpet, not even wipers.

The drivetrain is really cool. Butler Performance screwed together an all-aluminum 535-inch Pontiac engine that bristles with go-fast stuff. Pistons, rods and crank are all forged aftermarket pieces. The heads are Edelbrock Performer RPM castings that've been ported by Butler. The intake is likewise a ported Edelbrock Victor that's had a bit of height machined off of the carb pad to improve hood clearance. Compression is about 10.5:1, so it'll run on pump gas. The valvetrain features a Comp hydraulic roller camshaft ground to Butler Performance specs, with shaft-mounted forged aluminum roller rockers. This combo produced about 680 horsepower on the dyno, and enough torque to slow the rotation of the earth. A version of this engine will be the top powerplant offered in the BRE Trans Ams.

Transmitting all that twist is the job of a new dual-disc clutch setup from Ram with hydraulic actuation. Ram recommends dual-disc clutches for engines making 650 horsepower and above for improved clamping force with a relatively light pedal. Easing pedal effort even more is a Tilton hydraulic throwout bearing mounted on the front of the Tremec TKO600 5-speed built by Pro-Motion Engineering. The Tremec was blueprinted, with cryogenically treated gears and polished shift forks. The result is a strong gearbox with a nice, direct shift feel.

Out back, SuperChicken got a 31-spline Moser 12-bolt axle assembly with a 3.73:1 geared Detroit Tru-Trak differential. We also used road race-style sealed axle bearings to keep gear lube from leaking everywhere during hard cornering.

To stiffen the structure of the car, we added a six-point roll bar, and used production-style subframe connectors that run through the floor pans. To aid in weight distribution, we slid the engine back in the chassis about three inches, and lowered it about an inch-and-a-half. We used a motor plate up front to mount the engine, with a mid-plated between the bellhousing and block to support the rear. Moving the engine back meant modifying the firewall and trans tunnel, so we built removable floor panels that allow easy access to the transmission and bellhousing area.

Here are a few more details: Headers were built in-house using 1-7/8" stainless tubing for the primaries, leading to 3-1/2" collectors. A Moroso remote "Oberg"-type oil filter was fitted, as was a Canton oil cooler and Accusump system. A Butler-spec engine evacuation system was bolted on to pull a vacuum on the crankcase. The fuel system consists of two Holley Black electric pumps (a primary and a backup), that runs through an Aeromotive filter to an Aeromotive regulator. A Fuel Safe fuel cell lives in the trunk.

Brakes are critical on a road-race car, so we used top-shelf Baer 6-piston monoblock calipers squeezing 14" two-piece rotors front and rear. These brakes are optional on all Ban II and Ban III-level BRE Trans Ams, and are simply amazing. Wheels are Fikse three-piece units with forged centers, 18" x 10" up front and 18" x 12" in the rear. They wear BF Goodrich R1 DOT-legal race tires, sized 285-30-18 in the front and 335-30-18 out back.

There were a couple of surprises when we put the car on the scales for initial setup. First, the car weighed in at 3365 pounds, a little lighter than we thought it would be. Even more interesting, though, was the weight distrubution - 49.3% on the front tires and 50.7% on the rears! It seems sliding the drivetrain back and placing most of the ancillaries such as the battery, the Accusump and the fire system in the rear of the car made a big difference.

The intial shakedown runs at Talladega GP were promising. The handling of the car was very neutral, and it's easy to tell from the driver's seat that the weight is pretty evenly distributed front to rear. Our day ended a little early when an unnamed driver was a little too quick on the throttle exiting one of the slower corners and spun off the track. Typically, a harmless spin such as this hurts only ego, but unfortunately there was a small ditch about thirty feet off the track... The result was some bent sheetmetal up front and lots of mud and grass underneath. In the driver's defense, though, the car was spitting a little oil out of the evacuation catch can and that may have contributed to the spin.

We're currently fitting some new fenders and nose to the car, and plan on beating on it again after the first of the year. With the help of Kyle Tucker from Detroit Speed & Engineering, we've got a good direction for fine-tuning the shocks and suspension settings.

The best news about the initial runs are that the basic balance of the car is very good, and with all that Butler power, it's extremely fast! In fact, one of the things we're doing now is upgrading the roll cage. After all, when a car like this is put on the racetrack, well, let's just say things can happen. Better safe than sorry!

Check back for more on the evolution of SuperChicken. This is gonna be fun.