most attribute the first car that lead to the LatG/Pro Tour genre was Big Red. I know that for me, being a senior in high school in 1988-89 when that car appeared in Hot Rod and cleared 200mph in the Silver State it changed the way I viewed hot rodding to this day.
This is what it looks like today after a refurb a few years back. I see it at SEMA including this year, and every year I just stare and drool - I never get over this car, kinda like that first girlfriend you never forget