1,000 Horse Drop Top
Transforming a Base C6 into a Super Exotic
Car
shows are not only fun to attend but are also an excellent source of
information about the latest innovations in the car modding
world. We recently covered an all Corvette show in
West Palm
Beach Florida,“Corvettes on
Clematis”. Clematis Street
is not a venereal disease; it's the main drag that runs through
downtown West Palm Beach. The annual event
is
hosted by the Corvette Club of the Palm Beaches and features some truly
outstanding pieces of automotive re-engineering.
While
at the show we stumbled onto an example of how a Corvette could be
taken to the
limits of this non factory re-engineering concept. The car, an 06 Le
Mans Blue
convertible, belongs to Ray Bergman from South East Florida. Ray told us that the car
has been a
continuing work in progress. The
extensive engine and, body and interior work has been progressing for
over the
course of the past four years Ray
started his odyssey by increasing the “oomph” factor of the stock 400 horse LS2. He contracted the services of Next Level
Performance in Altamont Springs, Florida. Geoff Skorupa at NLP
helped to coordinate the extensive mods to the car which included a
laundry
list that would take several pages to detail..
Geoff
has been squeezing maximum performance out of Corvettes since 1976. He
left the
chilly streets of Chicago
and set up shop in Florida eight years ago. NLP is
one of the nation’s top turbo and super charger installers. With over
fifteen
years of turbo installation experience NLP has come up with a
specialized
process that ensures maximum power output and maximum engine and drive
train
survivability.
Jeff told us that he
builds turbo powered engines that live very comfortably in the
exclusive
1,000hp club. To
create this kind of
power the APS turbo’s must put out 15 to 18 pounds of boost. Jeff told us that the key
to engine survival
at high boost levels is tuning. Through years of experience NLP has
developed a
customized tuning process that enables street ability for what we like
to call
a “Hyper Vette”.
The
main items of interest in this radical conversion included a set of
twin APS
turbos. NLP is the nation’s largest dealer in APS turbo’s. A
custom methanol injection system with an
adjustable boost controller also aids in the prevent engine self
destruction
under high boost. A special turbo grind
Comp camshaft was also installed to compliment the new engine
configuration.
We
don’t see many successful turbo charged cars.
The complex plumbing and problems in controlling huge
amounts of boost
and power output inherent in a turbo install is a daunting task. NLP utilizes a unique
turbo mounting
strategy.
The turbo’s are mounted
directly in back of the exhaust manifolds to ensure maximum boost
output. The
guy’s at Next Level Performance handle both super and turbo installs
with the
greatest of ease. NLP handled all the details and extensive
modification that
would enable Ray’s car to live a long a decent life on the mean streets
of South Florida.
The
auto slush box in the car was upgraded
to include all billet steel internals and an 1800 stall
converter. The new
tranny can safely
handle up to 1200 hp. Other
power
motivators include a ZO6 diff and set of 3:15rear
end gears. Pirelli
P-Zero tires
mounted on Forgeline wheels provide the grip and stopping power is
provided by
Baer rotors.
Ray’s
car also has the “show” to compliment the “go”. The body conversion includes
front and rear quarter panels with a five inch increase in fender flare
width
over stock. Special side skirts, rear wing and front splitter make this
a very
aggressive looking package.
A
very cool looking vented Motor City vented sport hood and
a
set of Lambo Vertical doors finish off the Euro exotic motif.
The special LeMans blue paint was applied by
top flight automotive.
The
interior of Ray’s dream car sports customized Lemans Blue leather seat
and
panel inserts done by interior craftsman Kevin Bucher and the
Trim Shop in West Palm Beach Florida
Kevin
is a friend of
ours and we have always been a fan of his interior work on cars, boats
and
aircraft. We ran into him while we were photographing Ray’s car at the
show,
it’s a small world. Other refinements include ample amounts of carbon
fiber,
and an after market Pioneer sound and Nav system that pushes vibrations
through
JL Audio components.
Ray's Vette is
not something that can be duplicated very easily. The mods thus far
have more
than equaled the cost of the original car. Like the fine gems in
Ray’sSouth Florida jewelry shop his
Corvette is a thing of beauty and rarity. The 06 is probably one of
only a
handful of convertible Vettes that that has ever been modified to this
extent.
The project took almost three years to complete but in reality it is a
never
ending labor of love.
The Vette Nuts
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