The tuning world is full of stories of builders performing LS swaps for their Japanese drift cars, but one U.K. racer named Alex Hildebrand wanted to do something a bit different, so he went the opposite direction by putting a Japanese engine into a C6 Corvette.
The engine he choose is a rotary engine from an RX-7, and with its Garrett turbocharger and low boost, it makes a very respectful 700 horsepower. But wait, there’s more! Turn up the boost, and you get 1,000 horsepower of tire-shredding goodness. The 2006 Corvette Coupe was also ripped apart and then put back together in as little as five months with a full carbon Kevlar body kit.
Alex says much of the work was completed in the last week, and they’ve only had a quick test session to try it out, and he comments that “it certainly shreds tires.”
Prior to his run, Alex takes us through some of the unique components that are on the car. We get a a closer look at the steering angle kit, 6-speed sequential transmission, and of course, the large hand brake that helps to throw the car around the corners. It’s quite the build!
Alex makes a number of runs over the course of the four day automotive festival and the video shows off many of the runs that are interspersed with his comments.
From Goodwood Road & Racing via YouTube:
You often see LS-swapped Japanese cars, but what about reversing that? Not many people have thought about popping a screaming rotary engine into an American muscle car, but it works way more than you’d think.
Alex Hildebrand and his team shocked the drifting world with this incredibly cool Corvette C6 and its new Japanese heart. The antithesis of the LS-powered RX-7 of a certain Mad Mike.