Latest news with #LJKoch
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
This C8 Corvette-Based Van Aims to Be the World's Fastest Food Truck
Food trucks may be a wonderful way to get fast food, but they're not exactly known for driving fast. There's an exception to every rule, however. In this case, it's 'The Vettro,' the creation of a man named LJ Koch who took a C8 Corvette engine and chassis and put a 1952 International Metro van over it to create a truly unique – and possibly the world's fastest — food truck. To prove just how fast this food truck is, Koch will be taking it to the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, where it will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest speed achieved by a food truck. The Guinness records council has set the record target speed of 130 mph. For reference, General Motors claims that a 2021 Chevroley Corvette Stingray Z51 has a top speed of 184 mph; then again, a regular Corvette Stingray has a shape that is a bit sleeker than that of a 1952 International Metro van. Still, 130 mph seems achievable. The entire build process has documented on Luc's Fajita Hut Instagram account, but in a nutshell: Koch purchased the van a few years ago for $400 to use for his Luc's Fajita Hut food truck business. After about 1500 hours' of work, the van was ready to be a fully functioning food truck in September of 2019. It was great for serving up tasty meals, but like most food trucks, it wasn't very fast. Enter the Corvette. According to a report by when Koch saw the C8 Corvette pop up for sale in 2022, he grabbed it. It was a brand-new 2021 model that most people would pamper, but Koch decided to take a Sawzall to it. He cut the car up so it could be married to the Metro van and take a run at a never-before-attempted world record. After about two years of work, the result is incredible. It's still a fully functioning food truck, but it's all Corvette underneath. The Corvette seats, dash, steering wheel — even the wall of buttons that's been since banished from the C8 remains in place. Should all go according to plan in a couple months, Koch can take The Vettro for a blast at triple-digit speeds on the racetrack, set a Guinness record, then pull into the paddock and reward himself with up a batch of fajitas. Not a bad day. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
The Drive
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Corvette C8 Turned Food Truck Is About to Set a Guinness World Record
The latest car news, reviews, and features. There's a Guinness World Record for just about every achievement you can imagine, plus many you've likely never thought about. One of the more obscure records is for the world's fastest food truck, and an entrepreneur from New Jersey hopes to set it with an International-Harvester Metro van. 'That's way too slow,' you say? Not necessarily: This van is pretty much a C8-gen Corvette underneath. New Jersey native LJ Koch built the truck, which he calls the Vettro, from the ground up, according to . He started the project by buying a 1950s Metro van that he found sitting behind a building in Pine Brook, NJ, and paid $400 for in July 2018. His original plan wasn't to build a race car; he simply wanted to restore it while preserving as much of the patina as possible and use it as a vehicle for his catering business. The project was completed a little over a year later, and the reborn Metro made its maiden voyage in September 2019. The van's fate took an unexpected turn when Koch ended up with a Corvette donor car. Fast-forward to 2025, and the Metro and the 'Vette have become one. The van's patina is complemented by LED headlights, wheel arch flares, custom-made side skirts, and a rear spoiler large enough to use as a dinner table. The five-spoke wheels tell the rest of the story: There's a Corvette chassis under the toaster-shaped body. We've seen and written about a lot of custom-built, body-swapped cars, but this is the first time we've stumbled upon a vehicle with both a mid-mounted, 6.2-liter V8 engine and beer taps. The van's interior isn't used for food prep, as the small block takes up a bit too much space, but its rear side panels open to reveal taps on one side (out of a Snap-On tool chest, no less) and a warming area on the other. We'd have to guess that the V8's heat helps keep those trays toasty. Regardless, the Vettro accelerates and sounds like a Corvette. It certainly looks like the world's fastest food truck. Time will tell whether it earns a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Koch will promote the record attempt by taking the Vettro to the Indy 500 over Memorial Day weekend, and the van's first timed run will take place on July 27 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Cup Series race. There's currently no record for the world's fastest food truck. Guinness created the category specifically for Koch, so a bone-stock Chevy Corvair Greenbrier running on half of its cylinders could, in theory, claim the honors. Koch explained that his van will need to hit at least 130 mph in order to set a record and redefine the term 'fast food.' That's well short of the Corvette Stingray's advertised top speed of 194 mph, but the Metro doesn't exactly excel in the aerodynamics department. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
