With a world-class eye for design and the technical skills to bring his brilliant concepts to life in 3D, Khyzyl Saleem is undeniably one of the most talented automotive concept artists on the planet. And though his usual fare is ultra-slammed, ultra-high-performance tuners and exotics, the entirely self-taught automotive design whiz has recently been venturing out of his comfort zone, and the latest example of this sees Saleem trade his usual street and/or track-focused treatment of a modern vehicle for a ruggedized render of an old school muscle car classic.
Starting with a first-generation GTO, Saleem has given the 1960s Pontiac a bonafide off-road conversion, with protective side-rails and custom crash bars front and aft — the former of which extends under the car, acting as a skid plate. Rolling on beefy Toyo all-terrain tires and five-arm rims, the GTO sports lifted suspension, and heavily flared wheel arches to accommodate the larger tires and extra travel. The stacked headlight arrangement now receives help via a roof-mounted light-bar, and a suite of quad auxiliaries on the hood, and the trunk’s been torn off, in order to house a pair of ratcheted-down spare tires, supplemented by a third spare on the roof rack.
