While some Americans are anxiously waiting for the delivery of their C8 ‘Vettes coming late due to part shortages, others feel no remorse cutting older generations of the sports car for some off-road fun – as this project clearly shows.
The owner says the idea was simply to outfit a C5 Corvette with huge Nitto Ridge Grappler tires and make it viable for off-road driving. Not unexpectedly, the massive 33-inch tires failed to fit inside the arches, so those had to be cut out and flared. If the images are any indication, however, the fenders are by no means adequate for the build, providing little to no protection against dirt flying into the convertible’s cabin.
At first, the owner tried to leave the stock leaf-spring suspension intact, but quickly realized it would make steering impossible. He then swapped the springs out for coilovers that added around 104 m (4 inches) of ride height to the vehicle.
Power for the build is sourced from a stock V8 capable of 350 PS (345 hp / 261 kW) when new. Due to the lift and the new tire diameter, the launch from zero to highway speed now takes 6.7 seconds.