The Hellnational is real, and this is how it should look when it's done.
Automotive renderings. Most people like them, some don’t really care, and a few people really don’t like them (yes, we do read the comments). Here’s the thing about renderings – they are a gateway to the imagination where all sorts of automotive tomfoolery is possible. That can be a very fun place if you let yourself enjoy the trip, and sometimes, the journey through fantasy even manifests itself in reality.
That’s what is happening here with this sinister Buick Grand National. We’ve featured numerous renderings from Abimele Design that often feature fantastic engine-swapped vehicles looking absolutely real. The Hellcat-swapped Grand National featured here isn’t real, but it’s the vision for an actual GN Hellcat that’s currently being built. How cool is that?
Details on the actual build aren’t offered, aside from it being a work-in-progress. A Facebook page called Project Hellnational does have an actual car with a big Hellcat V8 under the hood, but the renderings depict how it will look when everything it nipped, tucked, painted, and dialed in. The renderings also serve as a means to sample different design elements before busting out the tools, and there’s no other way to say it – this Grand National looks like a hellbeast from just about every angle.
Ironically, the Buick Grand National earned its legendary reputation by not packing a V8 engine. In stock trim, the GN made use of a turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 and in top-dog GNX trim, it was one of the quickest-accelerating cars built in the 1980s and yes, that includes exotics like the Ferrari Testarossa and Lamborghini Countach.
Grand National 4EVA:
Fitting a V8 into a space where a V6 once stood sounds tricky, and the 6.2-liter Hellcat with its big blower isn’t small by V8 standards. However, the Grand National’s plebian Buick Regal trim level offered V8 options back in the day, and from the looks of it, the Hellnational doesn’t have any issues with the mill under the hood.
We hope the renderings of this epic build inspire the actual car to look just as good, or even better. And we can’t wait to share the next round of renderings so all our imaginations can run wild.