Last week, an image was shared of a gorgeous twin turbo, radial tire Chevelle build on our Facebook page that instantly exploded with hundreds and later thousands of likes and shares, and to say the reception was a positive one would be a gross understatement. That’s when chassis builder Rob Matheis of Missouri-based Matheis Race Cars, the builder of the boosted work of art, reached out to share some background and the nitty gritty details on the car.

And, not surprisingly, the car is every bit as spectacular under the shell as the images would indicate.

Car owner Chris Jennwein of Cedar Hills, Missouri commissioned Matheis to transform his 1968 Chevelle into a street and strip bruiser, and the build has not disappointed. Matheis has constructed a 25.3 double framerail chassis under it, with a Pro Mod-style 4-link rear suspension setup with a wishbone and 1.5-inch anti-roll bar and a fabricated rear end housing. Up front are a set of Strange Engineering Aluma struts and a Stiletto rack and pinion steering setup. Billet Specialties wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber are present on all four corners. In the trunk is a dual fuel tank arrangement, with a 10 gallon cell for 93 octane and a separate five gallon cell for race gas, along with an eight gallon ice water tank and a Waterman Lil Bertha cable drive fuel pump.

The powerplant, though, is what will really get your attention. Like so many others in the small-tire game, Jennwein has gone the big-block twin turbo route, tasking noted engine builder Steve Morris to assemble a 565 cubic inch big-block Chevrolet, that’s fed by a pair of 88mm Precision 2nd-Gen Pro Mod turbos that are neatly (and somewhat discretely) mounted into the factory grille, right alongside the headlights. The turbo setup is combined with a PT3000 intercooler located under the dash, and 66mm Precision wastegates, to deliver what is likely (if Morris has a hand in it) well in excess of 2,500 horsepower.

In addition to the hot and cold side turbo system featuring custom 2.25-inch headers, Matheis has also fabricated an exhaust system that dumps out just behind the door jam on each side, giving it a very sleek appearance. This week, the MRC crew is building the carson fiber wing, parachute mounts, throttle pedal and linkage, and the transmission tunnel, before the chassis is disassembled and sent off for paint. Jennwein will then be taking delivery and completing much of the wiring and final assembly himself.

Most interestingly, in addition to some planned competition in Radial vs The World, Jennwein has every intent of making and keeping his Chevelle street legal, with plates and everything needed to make it pass state inspections planned out from the very get-go. The extent to which the car will see highway time is up to his discretion, but according to Matheis, Jennwein has joked that he “just might have to plan some vacation time in Oklahoma,” if you catch his drift.