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This Chevrolet Sonic Has An LS3 Wedged Under The Bonnet

What happens when you put 430bhp of LS3 goodness under the bonnet of Chevrolet’s smallest car?

Well, it suddenly becomes a very fast car. Fast enough for PMR Motorsport to take it rallying. Of course, they had to add on a number of other modifications to make it the real deal, such as a roll cage, wider flares to cover the wider track, and light weight racing seats. The suspension is also lifted to deal with whatever the American Rally Association race series – which it’s built for – will throw at it. Yep, this car isn’t just an Instagram queen, it’s built to race with the big leagues.

All wheel-drive will help the power of the 6.2-litre V8 get to the ground, not only creating one hell of a weapon on a rally stage, but also making it the fastest Sonic ever built as far as we know. But all this power needs air flow, so the front bumper has been chopped up to now feature a large mouth for the intake and cooling to sap off. At the rear you’ll find a large wing to keep its horses planted, too, and to top it all off, the stars and stripes have been lovingly placed on its roof.

I’d love to feel what it’s like to push that much power and torque through such a short wheelbase, and I also love the fact that they’ve chosen not to use a turbocharged four-pot like every other rally car out there. Instead, they’ve chosen the impenetrable nature of the LS engines and the limitless torque that accompanies a large displacement V8.

Only America could build something so wrong and make it so right. And for that, we salute you.

 

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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