Ringbrothers unveils Billie at SEMA: 650hp widebody 1965 GTO

Ringbrothers took the cover off its newest car, BILLIE, at 10:30 am on Tuesday 3 November at the Gentex booth, #23889, on the opening day of the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It is a 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible in name, a widebody restomod in fact, and it makes 650hp.

The donor was not even a GTO. The car began life as a 1965 Pontiac Tempest convertible, which is a smaller leap than it sounds, because in 1965 the GTO was still an option package on the Tempest line. The client commissioned it as a tribute to a 1965 GTO his mother once owned. Ringbrothers says more than 5,500 hours went into it.

What is actually under the paint

The engine is a Wegner Motorsports supercharged 6.2-litre LT4 V8 rated at 650hp and 650 lb-ft, sent through a Bowler Performance 10-speed automatic. The body sits on a Roadster Shop FAST TRACK Stage III chassis with independent rear suspension, Fox coilovers and six-piston Brembo brakes. Wheels are HRE G-Code, 19x10.5 inches front and 20x13 inches rear, on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.

The whole body has been widened by five inches, with reshaped front fenders, extended rear quarters and stretched rockers. Carbon fibre is used for the hood, the front wheel tubs, the lower valance and the rear diffuser. Paint is a custom BASF Glasurit shade called Billie Goat Blue. Inside, the dashboard has been rebuilt and repositioned four inches forward and two inches lower, with Dakota Digital instruments, Vintage Air climate control and a shifter made from a modified olive wood espresso portafilter. Ringbrothers has not disclosed what the build cost, and the car goes to its private owner after the show.

Who else is building at SEMA 2026

Ringbrothers is one name in a crowded hall. The 2026 show also has Chip Foose unveiling a rebuilt 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air with Coulson Autosports and TMI Products, Dave Kindig of Kindig-It Design showing a 1968 Pontiac Bonneville, Steve Strope with a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette, Rick Dore with a 1936 Ford roadster and Jason Noel with a custom 1956 Ford F-100. The show runs 3 to 6 November.

Could an Indian buyer import a car like this

Not as a vintage vehicle, and that matters. In February 2025 the DGFT amended its import policy condition so that vehicles classified as vintage motor vehicles under the Explanation to sub-rule (1) of rule 81A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 are free for import by actual users, replacing the old pre-1950 cut-off.

The catch is in the definition itself. A vintage motor vehicle has to be more than fifty years old from the date of first registration after first sale, and it must be maintained in its original form and must not have undergone any substantial overhaul, which includes any modification in chassis or body shell or engine. BILLIE changes all three. A stock 1965 Tempest or GTO can therefore come in on that route. A five-inch-wider carbon-bodied LT4 car on a Roadster Shop chassis cannot, no matter how old the VIN is.

If you do bring in a genuinely original car, the fee schedule under the 2021 amendment is ₹20,000 for registration and the issue of the vintage certificate, and ₹5,000 for re-registration or renewal. Vintage plates use a separate XX VA YY format and are exempted from High Security Registration Plate rules, the certificate is valid for ten years and renewable in five-year blocks, and sale between private owners is allowed as long as both sides inform their State Transport Authorities and the car is re-registered.

For an Indian builder, the useful part of BILLIE is the supplier list. Roadster Shop, Wegner, Bowler, HRE, Dakota Digital and Vintage Air are the same catalogue that any serious restomod shop here orders from, and almost all of it arrives as parts rather than as a car.

Sources

• Ringbrothers Mesmerizes the SEMA Show Once Again, This Time With Billie, the 650-HP Pontiac GTO (autoevolution)
• This 650-HP GTO Took 5,500 Hours to Build (MotorBiscuit)
• Plan for These Must-See Moments: 2026 SEMA Show Vehicle Reveal Schedule (SEMA)
• Builders, Racing Legends and Entertainment Icons Set for 2026 SEMA Show (SEMA)
• DGFT Revises Import Policy for Vintage Motor Vehicles (Taxscan)
• Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989: rules 81A to 81D (Commercial Law Publishers e-book)
• Central Motor Vehicles (Fifteenth Amendment) Rules, 2021 (TeamLease RegTech)