Sublime Superformance Grand Sport Is Powered by Mercury’s Wicked SB4 V8

This sweet-sounding Superformance Grand Sport is one of the absolute coolest Corvettes you’ll ever see.

As most Corvette fans are already well aware, the C2 Grand Sport is an incredibly rare, incredibly expensive machine that most mortals will never get to own, let alone drive. But there is an alternative, albeit also an expensive one – the Superformance Grand Sport. However, the cool thing about this aftermarket clone is the fact that buyers can choose to put just about any sort of engine in it they desire. In the case of this Superformance Grand Sport recently featured in a video from AutotopiaLA, that’s the mighty powerful Mercury SB4.

The Mercury SB4 is based on GM’s LS7 V8 and displaces 427 cubic-inches, but is a dual-overhead cam, naturally-aspirated powerplant. This incredibly cool mill is sold as a crate engine that pumps out 750 horsepower on pump gas, which makes it the perfect pairing for something like this lightweight C2 recreation. Of course, fitting this modern powerplant in the vintage Corvette required a bit of work, including creating a custom hood to clear the air intakes.

Needless to say, that effort was all worth it, because this might just be the coolest Superformance Grand Sport we’ve seen yet. Screaming through the side pipes with an 8,000 rpm redline, the repop sounds like nothing else on the road, and it obviously looks like a million bucks as well – mainly because millions is what it costs to acquire a real C2 GS. But this build goes far deeper than just a cool vintage body and a modern mill to match, of course.

The suspension is pretty trick as well, with exotic goodies like carbon fiber leaf springs. The rest of the car is faithful to the original, thanks to the fact that Superformance builds them off GM’s original tooling, as it is licensed by the automaker to do so. However, the modern bits underneath make it much more pleasant to drive on the street than the original race car version, which is aided by the updated 17- and 18-inch Halibrand-style wheels, sticky tires, and big disc brakes, as well as a smooth-shifting Tremec T56 Magnum six-speed manual transmission.

With just 2,900 pounds to move around, this GS replica is undoubtedly fast, both in a straight line and around corners. The result is one of the absolute coolest cars we’ve ever seen, one that looks, sounds, and goes equally well. It has also motivated us to start shoving coins in our collective piggy banks with the goal of owning one of these masterpieces at some point in our lifetime, too.

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