20-05-2025
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.
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