If you are a fan of Camaros, you have no shortage of options. The 2010 model is landing at grateful Chevrolet dealers this summer, and the original cars are still bringing in big money at auctions—the most cherry 1969 Camaro at a recent Barrett-Jackson sale in Scottsdale fetched $319,000. Between those extremes of price and providence lies the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Series 3 Camaro, a limited-production custom car with a unique NASCAR connection.

Think of the RCR Series 3 as a brand-new 1969 Camaro updated with high-end, modern go-fast tricks. Like a ’69 Camaro, the RCR looks incredible. Unlike the ’69 Camaro, it sports 13-inch Baer brakes, low-profile rubber—245/40/18 in the front, 335/30/18 in the back—and an adjustable coil-over suspension. Bolstering the RCR’s track-day credentials, its Dynacorn reproduction body shell can be backed up by an optional six-point roll cage, and its weight is minimized by front fenders and a spoiler and hood all made of carbon fiber. The vintage-car shimmy, where body panels dance to a different tune than the steering column and dashboard, is notably absent.

Subtle custom touches abound. The cowling is extended several inches up toward the windshield for better aerodynamics, necessitating a unique windshield fabricated in China (watch out for stone chips). The interior A-pillars are upholstered with panels that look factory-made, but were never part of the austere Camaro trim. And the towering rear spoiler is a NASCAR Car of Tomorrow item (though that part is as subtle as a Dale Earnhardt portrait tattooed across your chest).

The RCR Series 3 starts at $179,900, but that’s with the base engine, a 560 hp 6.3-liter V-8. There are three other power options, but the most intriguing choice is at the top of the food chain: For $225,000, the RCR can be had with a race-used NASCAR motor under the hood, making it a sort of real-life Chevy analogue to the moonshine-running General Lee.

With this option, you pick any of more than 50 NASCAR-driven engines in the RCR inventory; Childress has the race, date, and details associated with each one. Of course, some modifications must be made to tame these beasts for the street, so flat-top pistons are installed to lower the compression enough to tolerate pump gas. A carburetor with an electric choke is fitted, and a new cam bumps up low-end torque and lowers the power peak, so you don’t have to do a redline clutch drop to beat that Civic off the line. Even with that street-friendly detuning, the 5.7-liter NASCAR V-8 engine still cranks out 605 hp at 7,000 rpm. Brook Phillips, founder of Total Performance Inc. (the company that builds the RCR Series 3), says that the motor will happily tolerate 9,000 RPM, but this way you won’t have to rebuild it every 500 miles.

The car I drove did not, unfortunately, sport the NASCAR powerplant. As a consolation prize, it did have the "Stage 2a" motor, a 580 hp 7-liter leviathan that is probably not far off the performance of the top-shelf item. Curb weight is about 3,400 pounds, giving the RCR a better power-to-weight ratio than cars like the Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911 Turbo. And it feels like it: At full throttle, the rear suspension compresses down to the end of its travel and you get the sensation that, even though it’s hooked up, the RCR is just on the verge of spinning up a massive burnout. The car can make the most of its power, as long as you respect the fact that there’s no electronic safety net to save you from yourself.

The ride is actually quite benign, considering the race-hardware underpinnings, and the brakes are reassuringly up-to-date. But the main story is the motor. If you’re geeked on the aesthetics of a 1969 Camaro with fully modern performance capabilities, and you care to pursue one of the 50 RCRs that will be built, you may as well go all in for the pedigreed race motor.