Camaro-powered pickup to be raffled for charity

NTI will raffle off a striking Camaro-powered 1954 Chevrolet-bodied pickup truck to raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease research.

Named Daphne, the orange machine sports a Cab Over Engine body atop a 1969 Chevrolet C-20 Pickup chassis.

It’s powered by a 6.2-litre fuel-injected eight-cylinder engine from a 2022 Camaro, connected to the 6L-80s automatic transmission.

The cabin has a custom bench seat, power windows, air conditioning, and a touchscreen entertainment system.

“While the truck might be mid-century, she’s got modern features, including a 460hp LT1 Chevrolet Performance engine,” said Tony Clark, CEO of NTI.

“Daphne was found on a farm in the USA and purchased by a young Australian working there.

“Its original owner was supportive of the re-sell once she’d heard about how it would be restored and raffled for the MND cause.”

Following its discovery in the United States, the truck was transported to Australia, where it underwent its transformation by Matt Stone Racing.

“Our biggest contributing factor has been the time and the effort that’s gone into getting the work done and getting the truck built, juggling that with our busy racing schedule,” said Matt Stone.

“It’s a great project to be involved in, with a lot of work in a short amount of time, but thankfully we come from a motorsport background so that’s something we’re used to.

“Partnering with the NTI crew who are very passionate about both the cause and the project meant that it was something exciting to be involved in.”

Daphne marks the sixth time NTI has raffled a truck to raise money for MND, contributing more than $1.5 million in the five years the initiative has been running.

“Our commitment to raising funds for MND research comes after NTI’s former CEO Wayne Patterson lost his battle with the disease in 2018,” explained Clark.

“We established the official NTI MND Research Grant to help fund research into treatment and to ultimately find a cure.”

The raffle will be drawn at the NTI Townsville 500 in July, following its display at events in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast from April to June.

Tickets and terms and conditions can be found here.