Throwback! Monte Carlo Pro Street Concept Sports RWD V8 Power
Monte Carlo Pro Street concept from 1995 shows us a swap that should have been done from the factory.
When GM made the switch to the 5th generation Monte Carlo, they gave the car a major overhaul. They also took away one of the car’s most appealing features. Industry trends favor front wheel drive at the time, but the lack of V8 power neutered it entirely.
In 1995 though, custom car builder John Moss created something that wasn’t intended to be a one-off. As MotorTrend reports, Moss built the Monte Carlo “Pro Street” pretty much as a test mule for the boffins at GM. After years of emissions choked and downsized engines, it was time to see if a V8 muscle car had a home on the Chevrolet showroom floor. So this was created.
Don’t think of this as a simple build. Except for the interior, there’s no mechanical bits from the Monte Carlo that remain past the lime metallic green paint. GM’s W-body never could handle the kinds of modifications Moss would throw at it. So, a W-body 4th Gen Camaro was used for the main underpinnings.
Stretched by 3 inches, and widened by four, this is one of the few instances where a 5th generation Monte Carlo truly looked menacing. Power comes from an aluminum small block punched out to 406 cubic inches and that V8 makes 467 horsepower.
Power is sent to the rear wheels through the T56 6-speed manual from the Camaro. Power was more than doubled from the production car’s output. We only rediscovered this car after it popped up in a California classic car listing.
It makes complete sense on why GM would want to makes the Monte Carlo Pro Street. But then, there’s a revelation we never thought of, and it involves Australia. GM brought back the Holden Monaro in 2001, which saw the return of a Holden coupe after 25 years.
That Monaro was based on a Holden Concept car from 1998, which, to us looks an awful lot like the green Monte Carlo Pro Street built by Hoss. So was the Pontiac GTO actually supposed to be a Monte Carlo SS? We may never know. But now the Monaro makes a whole lot more sense to us.
Photos courtesy of Day Family Classic Cars
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