Fifth-gen Camaro Embarks on Harrowing Journey to Bonafide ‘Ute’ Status
Completely custom metal bodywork has brought this ‘El Camarino’ Camaro to life in less than two months.
GM’s release of the El Camino back in the late 50s was definitely an interesting step forward for the brand. The concept and application of a “utility coupe” still hasn’t been completely understood by the majority of the public, even today 63 years later.
However, that didn’t stop from GM from producing the vehicle for almost 30 years in the U.S. Sadly, all good things come to an end and stateside production ended in 1987.
Holden, the Australian GM-subsidiary, brought back the utility coupe in 2000 with their Commodore model, but also just recently killed the Ute from their vehicle line up in 2017.
Will we ever see a production Ute again from GM again? Most likely not. So, what is the next best thing? A bespoke Ute built completely from the ground up.
The geniuses responsible for this adventurous project are known as Carrozzeriacasados on Instagram. They had received the unique commission from an enthusiastic individual who had a vision he wanted transformed to reality.
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Casados Design, based out of Alabaster, Alabama, is “a full service restoration shop, specializing in building one off vehicles built to our customers specifications.”
Carrozziere, when translated from Italian, means coach-builder, a person or business concerned with building the bodies for modern vehicles. Paint, restoration, metal finishing, exhaust work, you name it, they do it.
Turning a 2010 Chevy Camaro Into a Bespoke Ute
While the concept of the “El Camarino” is not a novel one, it has never been executed in a truly professional way. Enter Casados Design. The customer funding the project had “very specific ideas” for what he wanted. Being a “small artisan workshop” they accommodate exactly what the customer needs.
From the B pillar back, this 2010 Camaro is essentially a completely brand new body built from scratch.
First step is a strip the whole thing down, and disassemble the factory sheet metal. He’s looking for a car that’s thoughtfully engineered and “factory “ looking as opposed to custom and obvious.
I love building things from scratch and I find elegance in simplicity so I’m looking forward to this one.
Several concept renderings and artwork were created for the project. After understanding the shape they wanted to create, translating that to reality is a completely different game.
The most difficult part of the overall project would be to “making a coupe look long without distorting it.. I’m referencing a Chevy avalanche for some cues which should help the build retain the “factory GM” feel.”
The customer specifically mentioned that he wasn’t interested in a copy of an existing car, but rather “re-imagine the idea with his own very specific parameters.”
As you can see, the shop takes an impressive amount of detail with their work and the result resembles factory integration.
Details, details, details
While the actual design of the project is one aspect of the build, it is far from the end of the road. The details and execution are truly what separate this Camaro from your regular shop car.
The factory bumper will be part of the frame rails/floor structure for the “truck” bed. It’s all about balance so the “B” pillar panels will help offset the proportions in 2D while the vertical bulkhead will allow for a 5’ bed and maximum visibility.
The stock battery placement will be re-used in the forward (new) floor space, allowing the user to move the seat forward in the cabin, lift an access panel and access the battery for service.
I put the body lines that run down the side of the body and low crown radius in the quarter panel/bed sides which you can just see in these pictures.
The radii in the factory panels are very subtle so a little goes a long way. I also started the bumper/diffuser design which will be removable to add a stock seam.
I’ll make it out of aluminum and double up the stock Camaro exhaust tips on either side to make it a little more aggressive.
With the diffuser and bumper piece made entirely of aluminum, the project reached one of its major milestones as the majority of the design aspects have been completed.
It’s crazy to think that all this progress has been accomplished on the vehicle in only about 60 days. These guys really put in the work! We are excited to see this project closer to completion. So far so good.
