With enough motivation (and time, money and beer), you can turn just about any car into the car of your dreams.
For Fourdin Auto Sport out of Belgium, that meant taking the 550hp, 7.0L LS7 V8 out of a Corvette Z06 and shoving it between the frame rails of a Chevy Matiz.
13 months and 1,500 man hours later, they ended up with the car you see before you, a pure-bred race car that will reach 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 162 mph. (For comparison, the stock Matiz takes 22 seconds to get to 60, and triple digit top speeds are out of the question without a long downhill road and a bit of a tail wind.)
Besides the engine, obvious modifications include a full roll cage, a SUPER wide-body kit, new suspension, wheels and tires, and a wing out back to keep the tail end planted on the track.
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but when you dare to dream, the results of that dream can often come in the strangest of packages.
Every year, SEMA serves as the debut for some of the most outrageous cars and stunning concepts from tuners around the world, and this year, Mercedes-Benz decided to get in on the action with the debut of their new GLK.
One of those GLKs that stormed the SEMA show is this Pikes Peak Rally Racer from RENNtech, and with its inspiration coming from the winged, unlimited-class rally cars of the famed Pikes Peak Hill Climb, it’s no surprise that the styling needed to be kicked up a few notches.
However, beneath the menacing exterior lies a powertrain that might surprise a few people: a hybrid, designed to make the GLK a formidable performer while at work and at play.
By combining an electric motor in parallel with the 3.5 liter V6 petrol engine, RENNtech has been able to capture the impressive torque that characterizes electric motor drives, adding 54 Nm to enhance the GLK’s performance off-the-line and out of corners.
In addition, internal combustion engines can start to wheeze as the ambient air thins at the higher altitudes that a hill climb takes place in, but with a hybrid drive, thrust is maintained at any altitude with help from the electric motor, allowing the GLK to remain strong during every part of the race.
The 3.5-liter V6 engine that comes stock in the GLK received a special intake manifold, cams and cylinder heads directly from MB, and then RENNtech added their own long-tube headers, composite air intake, and RENNtech ECU software to make the engine put out approximately 350 horsepower on gas power alone.
To help with speed, RENNtech cut weight by removing most of the sound insulation and replacing the Mercedes-Benz seats with lightweight carbon-fiber buckets. With the addition of a full roll cage and the movement of several components towards the rear of the GLK, weight distribution almost reached the perfect 50/50, which helps handling on tight, demanding rally stages.
Custom coil-over suspension was created by KW for RENNtech, allowing for adjustments in height, rake, damping rate, camber and toe-in, and 412mm, 2-piece rotors with 8-piston callipers from RENNtech handle stopping power in the front, while 4-pot callipers grab 356mm discs in the rear.
Not so subtle exterior modifications include a front splitter, rear diffuser, and lower side skirts all designed to help direct airflow underneath the GLK to reduce drag and produce added downforce, while improving high speed stability at the rear. The rear wing elements also serve an important aerodynamic purpose, and flared wheel arches and other bodyshell modifications “create a powerful side line that highlights the dynamic thrust of the Rally Racer”.
It’s definitely not the subtlest Mercedes-Benz on the road, but if you want cutting edge, rally ready technology that’s designed to get you where you want to go at a very high rate of speed, then look no further than the RENNtech Pikes Peak Rally Racer.
Don Stellhorn’s 1964 Pontiac GTO could be called Beauty and the Beast. Though outside it’s all flashy paint with a show quality shine, inside it’s all business, and this car is made to go.
After buying the car for $1,100, Don and his dad set out to restore and build a car that Don could learn to drive in, but as Don’s interest in racing grew, he soon began to push the limits.
Unfortunately, the limits pushed back, and Don wrecked the car at nearly 80 mph after loosing the breaks going into a turn at Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia.
Faced with the decision to scrap the car and call it a day or rebuild from the ground up, Don decided to build the car the way he had always dreamed, and ended up with the masterpiece you see before you.
Featuring three-piece one-off wheels from Complete Custom Wheel (the suspension what literally build around the wheel choice, instead of the other way around), a beefed up braking system to prevent repeat mishaps, a fully customized suspension system (Don took a job at SLP just so he could play with their metal working toys), a hand built body that Don himself created (everything but the roof and the quarter-panels is new), a full roll cage, 430 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque from the 455 cubic inch, and a custom Muncie M-22 transmission, this goat is made to race.
And race it he does, as Don himself says, “Some people are surprised that I race it because the car is so nice and would be hard to fix if it were wrecked. I may have a few moments in the pits or on the line where I worry about the car, but once I’m out on the track, my mind is on the race. If you took my pulse right now, it would probably be higher than when I’m racing.”
Well there’s no surprise here Don, because if I had a car like that, I don’t think you could drag me off of the track either.
Anyone who can look at a classic Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and decide that it’s just not going to be enough until there are 1040 horses of Hemi V8 under the hood is ok in my book.
The 592-cubic-inch monster features a dual-stage nitrous system to reach those astronomical power numbers, and the interior is even done up in full luxury garb, with a leather wrapped roll cage and a full collection of shiny gauges.
Plus, who’s going to deny some Grey Poupon to a guy with a blower sticking out of the hood?
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