ZZZzzz06 Corvette
Posted at 3:14 PM / June 26, 2009
Ask any car enthusiast what the word "sleeper" defines, and they will give you a response along the lines of "stock appearing, yet extraordinary performance". Although rarely used to describe a Corvette, especially a Z06 that comes from the factory with outstanding performance, it is still an accurate term that can be used to describe what John Horney's 2003 Electron Blue Metallic Corvette Z06 is. This just means that the performance must be above and far beyond what The General offered at the local Chevy dealership. The project was built entirely by Atlanta Performance & Fabrication in Acworth, Georgia. The "Blue Car", as it has been nicknamed, puts down a hefty 968 rwhp / 886 ft-lbs at 16 pounds of boost. Those numbers, although extremely impressive, cannot describe the brute force that this car packs into a punch. With such small turbos that spool up instantaneously, the rear tires almost always go up in smoke under full throttle. At a quick glance, this '03 Corvette
looks entirely stock and sounds it, too. The only exception is the aftermarket heat extracting hood and a boost gauge in the interior.
Under the hood you will find a completely custom fabricated intake sitting on top of a 9.1:1 compression, 383 cubic inch, stroked LS6. Twin, low mounted, 54mm Precision ball bearing turbos have found themselves nested under the 1-3/4 inch custom fabricated tubular manifolds. "No kits were used here. Everything from the intake manifold to the intercooler was fabricated in-house. We even made the shortened antenna for the radio" said William Ballou and John Lee of APF.
Atop the engine, a pair of 225cfm Trickflow heads with Manley dual valve springs help the engine breathe. A turbo camshaft custom ground to the specifications of
228/232 .588/.595 116 LSA is installed to orchestrate the intake and exhaust charges. Dual TiaL wastegates and a Godzilla blow-off valve are the only sounds that give away what is under the hood. Mototron 60 pound injectors fuel the beast of a motor through custom fuel rails, along with two Bosch 044 pumps.
So, the next time you happen across a stock appearing, innocent looking Corvette out on a Sunday drive, don't assume the owner is the typical wax-n-polish only type Corvette owner. You just might come across something like this example, cranking out over 1,000 hp. A "sleeper" that will really wake you up to reality in a hurry!
