Latest news with #Superformance
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
C2 Corvette Grand Sport Plays With LS Power
Read the full story on Backfire News Few names in Chevy heritage are as respected as the C2 Corvette Grand Sport. Perhaps that's why some purists have a strong aversion to continuation models like this, especially when they come with a modern LS engine. But we like this sports car and think it would be a fun toy to the Grand Sport was a strictly a racecar, not a street-legal production model. Chevy created it as a smaller, lighter version of the C2 Corvette specifically to take on the Shelby Cobra, which is why some call it the Mongoose (a snake killer). Superformance has permission from GM to make these continuation cars, which can be driven on public roads. Some people think continuation cars are inferior garbage or something that shouldn't exist. Others find them to be great ways of having fun. It can be a divisive topic. Under the vented hood of this Grand Sport is a 408ci LS2 V8 built by V's Performance. As you can see, it has velocity stacks via Borla. With upgraded internals, it's tuned to make just under 500-whp. With a curb weight under 3,000 lbs. this Grand Sport will move. A T56 Magnum XL 6-speed manual transmission backs that engine, adding to the fun a driver gets to have in this ride. When it comes to the chassis, there are Bilstein coilovers up front, and a single leaf transverse setup made of a carbon composite. Instead of the original single-piston disc brakes, the Wilwoods come with six-piston calipers in front and four-piston in the rear. We're fans of well-done continuation cars like this one from Superformance. It pays tribute to the original Grand Sports yet pushes modern performance and reliability, which in our minds is the best of both worlds. Images via Autotopia LA/YouTube
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Beautiful and Brutal: C2 Corvette Grand Sport With An Usual Engine
Read the full story on Backfire News We know a lot of people have big respect for the old C2 Corvette Grand Sport racecars, of which there were only a handful. Some will have zero respect for a replica like this one built by Superformance, but we think cars like this have their place. After all, even Carroll Shelby got into the business of continuation cars, so that's quite the endorsement of the nobody with any knowledge of the original Grand Sports will think for a second this is one of them, this ride would be plenty of fun to own. We love C2 Corvettes with their iconic Stingray styling, but the Grand Sport is just a cut above and unique. But this thing isn't just packing an LS or something mundane. Under the hood sits a naturally aspirated Mercury SB4 V8 with 750-horsepower on tap. Thanks to a nicely tuned exhaust with side pipes, the replica 'Vette sounds amazing and moves like a champion. Most people wouldn't think of putting a boat engine in a sports car, but this setup seems to work just fine. It apparently has an 8,000 rpm redline and sounds ethereal at high revs. Thanks to some geometric reconfiguration of the factory original stock used on Grand Sports by GM back in the 60s, this car can turn a tight radius. The racecars apparently couldn't, making them unusable on the street. That worked fine for motorsports, but this replica is a weekend pleasure vehicle. Other changes have been made, like power disc Wilwood brakes. A touring interior was added to this specific car, but Superformance does do race interiors in case you like discomfort or want to track your ride. Superformance also added a trunk, so the owner could technically take this Grand Sport on a road trip. The details of this build are beautiful, and that's what makes any car. Check out the video review to see them up close, hear this marine engine roar, and see this continuation car come to life. Images via Autotopia LA/YouTube
