As one of the last muscle cars of the era, H๏τCars artist Rostislav Prokop brings back the Super Duty as a beast with modern style and more power.

The early 1970s weren’t kind to muscle cars. Their more powerful engines prompted insurance companies to raise rates on them. Emissions standards became more stringent, forcing U.S. carmakers to reduce horsepower and compression ratio across the board. As a result, Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros were mere shadows of their former selves.

In 1973, however, Pontiac bucked this trend by producing what many consider to be the last of the muscle cars of the era: the Trans Am Super Duty, also known as the SD-455. Despite having lost 20 hp to emission controls, its 455 cu. in. V8 still pumped out 290 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque.

Pontiac made only 1,296 of these cars in 1973 and 1974, according to Hemmings. But H๏τCars artist Rostislav Prokop gives us a chance to see this car in a new light. His render of the 1974 Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty keeps to the spirit of this special car while updating its style and swapping in more power.

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Prokop’s Super Duty’s black exterior is elegant yet ominous. It’s a far cry from Pontiac’s Buccaneer Red. Yet, it’s an appealingly aggressive look, especially with its widened stance.

Pontiac reworked the Trans Am’s front end to a shovel-nose design. Prokop keeps that, along with the front splitter, the grille with its square parking lights, and the scoop headlights. But one obvious deletion is the giant “Screaming Chicken” hood decal.

On the sides, Prokop smooths the air scoops in front of the doors. At the back, the rear spoiler and the new-for-1974 slotted headlights are more contemporary. The artist has also deleted the old 5-mph telescoping bumpers front and back.

A Big-Block LSX Swap Brings This Trans Am Super Duty Up To Speed

Although the Super Duty and the mid-level Trans Am trim shared a 455 cu. in. V8, there was a difference of 40 hp between the two. According to Barrett Jackson, the SD-455’s added power came from its strengthened block, aluminum pistons, 4-bolt main bearings, forged rods, and, of course, its special high-flow cylinder heads.

In order to give this restomod the edge it deserves in the world of modern muscle cars, we imagine a Chevy LSX 454 swap boosted by twin turbos. This combination would produce upwards of 1,000 hp. We’d mate it with a T-56 6-speed manual transmission.

For the car that is commonly called the last of the muscle cars, we say long live the Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty, especially this version