The owner of this C7 Grand Sport wanted more out of his car. Thanks to Late Model Racecraft’s LMR1200 upgrade package, he got it.
The Chevrolet Corvette itself is an American automotive icon. The Corvette lineup is a series of steps up toward nearly 800 horsepower. The first step is the 460-horsepower Stingray. The Grand Sport produces the same amount of power, but offers Z06-grade aerodynamics and chassis hardware. The Z06 steps up output to a staggering 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. Up at the top of the Corvette hierarchy is the 755-horsepower ZR1 uber-Vette. Some people take one of those steps and stay on that level. Others, like the guy who owns this LMR1200 Corvette Grand Sport, take a step, then go their own way past ZR1 levels of power.
According to Late Model Racecraft, the shop that created the monster shown in the video above, they had a customer who “wasn’t quite satisfied with the amount of power his Grand Sport was putting down.” He turned to them for more, nearly a ZR1’s hp rating more. LMR offers a variety of tuning packages for naturally-aspirated C7s. The all-motor setups range in potency from 530 horsepower to 660 horsepower. The supercharged upgrades go from 650 to 750 to 800 to 1,000 horsepower.
Then there’s the LMR1200, which this Grand Sport is rocking. As its name implies, it generates an absolutely bonkers 1,200 horsepower. LMR didn’t stop there or at an F1X ProCharger or at a better breathing system. It also fitted their customer’s GS with an eight-point roll cage, seats, and wheels color-matched to the hash marks on the front fenders.
Out on the road, the LMR1200 goes like hell, racking up higher and higher numbers on the speedo with eye-popping quickness. The driver stops at 105, which seems like a warm-up to this beast. Its owner didn’t just go a step higher than the peak of factory Corvette power. They took a rocket-propelled leap past it.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
