You’re Looking at a Twin Mid-Engined C5 Corvette With 1,300+ HP
No, it doesn’t look like a Corvette, but trust us here.
In the world of Corvettes, the new C8 still claims most of the hype thanks to its mid-engined layout—but one tuner has it beat. Feast your eyes on this C5 with not one, but two supercharged LT4 V8s behind the cabin. Built by the crew at Double Trouble Hot Rod and named the GT-55C, its body has been extensively modified to the point of barely being recognizable as a C5 except for the doors and greenhouse. In other words, it looks like the most extreme version of an eight-year-old's idea of a supercar.
The wild thing made its debut at Hot August Nights last week but really caused a scene when it rolled into Monterey Car Week on Tuesday. Even amidst the multi-million dollar classics that Pebble Beach is known for, this caught the eye of everyone around, including Axis of Oversteer on Twitter.
As for the engines used, the LT4 produced 650 horsepower when it appeared in the C7 Z06. However, it's good for 668 hp in GM's most recent application: the brand new Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, our first impressions of which you can read here. Meaning it's safe to assume that this dual-LT4 C5 is packing a total of 1,300 hp.
And if you're wondering whether this thing actually works, I wouldn't bet against it. Gordon Tronson at Double Trouble is a specialist when it comes to modifying vehicles to run on multiple engines. Yes, multiple, meaning more than two in some cases. Just check out this trio of builds. That's a Ford Econoline van with four blown Ford Racing motors, a quad-supercharged Model T, and a Harley with four times the number of engines a regular Harley would have.
I'm usually not the biggest fan of modified cars in general and something tells me the compromised balance and heft of this twin-engine C5 means it'd still get trounced by a regular Z06 Corvette around a race track. But you've gotta appreciate the sheer audacity of strapping two supercharged V8s to the back of a 20-year-old 'Vette. Oh, and if you squint, it kinda looks like the Youabian Puma from 2013. IYKYK.
Got a tip or question for the author about this twin-engined 'Vette? You can reach them here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com
