American muscle survives multiple wars and internal strife in Iran!
During the free-wheeling Supercar Sixties and Seventies, Baldwin Chevrolet and Motion Performance in Baldwin, NY partnered to create the highest profile, highest performance brand new big-block Chevys you could buy Many Baldwin-Motion 427 and 454 Camaros (and 350 V8 Vegas) were exported, including the Blue Metallic '74 Phase III 454 Camaro owned by Ramin Salenkhou in Tehran, Iran. Powered by a 9.0-to-1 open-chamber ZL/X big block with an Edelbrock manifold and 850-cfm Holley four-barrel and headers, Motion's Joel Rosen shipped this car to a customer in Iran and it has never left the country!
The original owner was H.M. Hovsepian, a Maserati-driving enthusiast and the Managing Director of Hamarg in Tehran. He ordered it from Motion when Chevrolet announced its 1974 models and its build is documented in Motion Invoice # 3988, dated 10/73. After roadtesting on Sunrise Highway in Baldwin, the air-conditioned, automatic transmission Camaro was shipped to Khorramshahr, Iran's largest commercial port until it was reduced to rubble by Saddam Hussein's forces during the Iran-Iraq war. Today it is a highly fortified facility known as Iran's Stalingrad!
Ramin's Phase III Camaro, originally invoiced at $12,768.75, has been in Iran since new and was stored for many years during and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Between 1994 and 1998 it was street driven, raced and held numerous national titles. Research shows that the Baldwin-Motion Camaro was also used as an official Marshall car for the Peking to Paris Rally.
Ramin Salenkhou, a lawyer educated in the United States, is involved in the restoration and preservation of the late-Shah's collection of coachbuilt luxury and exotic cars. A Motion and American muscle car enthusiast since his teenage years, he is a member of the prestigious Federation Internationale de L'Automobile (FIA) Committee Historic International (CHI).
Ramin purchased the Camaro in 2004 and has been driving it while gathering parts and information for its restoration.
For more information about Motion, visit: www.officialbaldwinmotion.com