How about stripping a Chevrolet Corvette down, strapping in a 7.0-liter LS, and going after some world records for manual Corvettes? Sounds like an insane project to you? It sure didn't sound too daunting to Cleetus McFarland, the creator of "Leroy The Savage."

"Leroy The Savage" is, at its core, a Chevrolet Corvette C5 that was stripped of its bodywork and was able to run the quarter mile in 11 seconds with no other modifications. Then came an LSA supercharger and other mods that brought the time down to 9 seconds. McFarland then smelled blood and reckoned his creation could go after some records on the dragstrip and one thing led to another.

The Full Story

Well, other than this one, of course. The car as you see it in this video is Cleetus McFarland interpretation of how a really fast Corvette should look like. And it's not only fast in a straight line, McFarland taking it to autocross events, to track days - even at Daytona - plus the odd drift event for fun.

The mechanical side is insane. So, underneath, there's a bone-stock Corvette chassis on coilovers. The fiberglass bodywork is gone but with all the additions it still weighs in at 2,900 pounds. The engine is a 7.0-liter LS with a 'Bald Eagle' camshaft. It has two 6466 Precision turbochargers which put out some 30 pounds of boost, enough for a power output of over 1,000-horsepower. The engine is fed via Holley Hi-Ram injection with Holley also delivering the ECU which keeps everything in check.

The wheels themselves are housed inside 28-inch tires which made it possible for McFarland to dip below 8'50. In fact, this made Leroy the fastest manual Corvette in the world. The previous record stood at 8'63 and McFarland's 8'48 at 163 mph beat that in late 2017. Since then, other faster builds came along but "Leroy The Savage still is one of the most rad Corvettes on the planet.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Convertible.

Read our full review of the 2014 - 2017 Corvette Stingray

Read our full review on the Chevrolet Corvette C6.