You may have heard of the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. The Bondurant School is based at
Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix, Arizona.
Several different programs are offered including some covering Race Driving,
and some covering Street and Highway driving.
The school features a 60 acre facility and a 1.6 mile track designed by world champion driver Bob Bondurant.
The Bondurant School’s fleet of 1LE package Camaros, are powered by Chevrolet’s L99-code LS3, good for 426 horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission.
The car featured in this article is a SMS Bondurant Chevrolet Camaro. SMS Supercars was founded by Steve Saleen in 2008. SMS Supercars offers the ultimate vehicle, manufactured and marketed as Black Label models.These are the ultimate performance models.
Bob Bondurant
The Carroll Shelby Influence
Following is a brief history of some of the many racing successes enjoyed by Bob Bondurant
Carroll Shelby was doing a lot of exciting things during the early 1960's. Most notable was Shelby's work in placing a Ford V-8 engine on the chassis of the small AC chassis. This was Shelby's Cobra model which you will run across at numerous car shows all across the country. Bondurant drove for Shelby and won the 1963 Grand Prix of Riverside in a 289 Cobra. In 1964 he traveled to Europe, teaming with Dan Gurney, and again in 1965, teaming with Jo Schlesser. During both years, the Shelby team won the GT class at the 24 Hours of LeMans.
After much acclaim for Bondurant's success with Shelby, Ferrrari came calling. Ford happened to be Ferrari's biggest competitor at the time in Europe. Bob Bondurant first competition as a member of the
Ferrari Formula One team took place at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix in 1966. He drove a BRM P261. In the Monaco Grand Prix he placed as high as fourth.
More competition included driving for Dan Gurney and his “Anglo American Racers” F1 team in the US and Mexico. Shortly after that Bob Bondurant worked as a driving consultant on John Frankenheimer’s racing film, Grand Prix, starring James Garner.
See these additional Muscle Car Journal cars on the links below.....
An All Electric 68 Mustang Fastback that Does 0-60 in Less than 3 Seconds
A 1969 Dodge Challenger 426
1973 Ferrari Dino GTS
The Bondurant Chevy Camaro Charity Auction
The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SMS Bondurant featured in this article was auctioned off during January 2015. The auction proceeds were given to Cox Charities and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona. Cox Charities has given out more than $3.4 million in grants to local non-profits focused on youth, education and technology. Cox Charities awards every dollar received.
This car was sold at the auction for $100,000. The winning bidder also received the Bondurant three-day performance driving school program.
This model has a Supercharged 6.2 Liter V8 engine delivering over 620hp. Transmission is a six speed manual. Additionally, the SMS Bondurant Chevrolet Camaro has a Red Butterfly hood, Eibach S suspension and a special set of 20" HRE wheels, Pirelli tires and a Borla exhaust system. Also included with this car are custom gauges and Alcantara leather seats with Signature Series stripes.
SMS Supercar other muscle cars incluse the 460 Ford Mustang, the 25A Mustang and the 570 Challenger.
(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)
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| 2011 SMS Bonderant Chevy Camaro |
The Bondurant School’s fleet of 1LE package Camaros, are powered by Chevrolet’s L99-code LS3, good for 426 horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission.
The car featured in this article is a SMS Bondurant Chevrolet Camaro. SMS Supercars was founded by Steve Saleen in 2008. SMS Supercars offers the ultimate vehicle, manufactured and marketed as Black Label models.These are the ultimate performance models.
Bob Bondurant
Bob Bondurant was a consistent winner on the race circuit. During 15 years of racing Bondurant had a winning record. His wins were against the best drivers in the
top series on both sides of the Atlantic. It could also be a dangerous sport. Bondurant experience two wrecks during his race days and both could easily have been fatal. Both wrecks were caused by mechanical failures.
Starting With a Motorbike
Starting With a Motorbike
Bondurant became accustomed with motorized vehicle at a young age. When he was 10 years old his mother bought him a motorbike to help with his paper route. After the motorbike came a motor scooter and then a 125cc motorcycle.
Aviation was also one of his pursuits at a young age. To learn to fly helicopters, Bondurant was employed after school as a mechanic's aid at a
helicopter repair shop and was able to take informal flying
lessons. During these years he also learned to ride Harleys Racing of course was the next step. Bondurant started out with an Indian 101
Scout, and started competing on dirt ovals..
He worked on his bike with a
friend who built the best racing engines and was even offered one.
The engine was happily accepted. Racing typically took place on Sundays. Interesting enough, his solid performance with motorcycles moved him from the Novice class all the way to
Expert.
The Carroll Shelby Influence
Following is a brief history of some of the many racing successes enjoyed by Bob Bondurant
Carroll Shelby was doing a lot of exciting things during the early 1960's. Most notable was Shelby's work in placing a Ford V-8 engine on the chassis of the small AC chassis. This was Shelby's Cobra model which you will run across at numerous car shows all across the country. Bondurant drove for Shelby and won the 1963 Grand Prix of Riverside in a 289 Cobra. In 1964 he traveled to Europe, teaming with Dan Gurney, and again in 1965, teaming with Jo Schlesser. During both years, the Shelby team won the GT class at the 24 Hours of LeMans.
More competition included driving for Dan Gurney and his “Anglo American Racers” F1 team in the US and Mexico. Shortly after that Bob Bondurant worked as a driving consultant on John Frankenheimer’s racing film, Grand Prix, starring James Garner.
See these additional Muscle Car Journal cars on the links below.....
An All Electric 68 Mustang Fastback that Does 0-60 in Less than 3 Seconds
A 1969 Dodge Challenger 426
1973 Ferrari Dino GTS
The Bondurant Chevy Camaro Charity Auction
The 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SMS Bondurant featured in this article was auctioned off during January 2015. The auction proceeds were given to Cox Charities and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona. Cox Charities has given out more than $3.4 million in grants to local non-profits focused on youth, education and technology. Cox Charities awards every dollar received.
This car was sold at the auction for $100,000. The winning bidder also received the Bondurant three-day performance driving school program.
This model has a Supercharged 6.2 Liter V8 engine delivering over 620hp. Transmission is a six speed manual. Additionally, the SMS Bondurant Chevrolet Camaro has a Red Butterfly hood, Eibach S suspension and a special set of 20" HRE wheels, Pirelli tires and a Borla exhaust system. Also included with this car are custom gauges and Alcantara leather seats with Signature Series stripes.
SMS Supercar other muscle cars incluse the 460 Ford Mustang, the 25A Mustang and the 570 Challenger.
(Article and photos copyright Muscle Car Journal)
