4LT GS Roadster
VETTE readers already know that the Corvette is America's Favorite Sports Car, but we recently discovered one passionate Vette owner who's doing everything he can to turn his C6 Z06 into America's Fastest Sports Car.
"I fell in love with Corvettes when I was 7 years old," says Adam Brandt, a sales executive and part-time Vette tuner in Bethpage, New York. "My mom's boyfriend had a '77, and he used to give me rides in it. It instilled in me a lifelong passion for Chevrolet's flagship car."
Moving forward 16 years, Brandt purchased his first Vette, an '88 35th Anniversary coupe. Subsequent acquisitions included an '85 coupe, followed by onetime Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill's personal '00 Millennium Yellow convertible. Brandt eventually settled on a '97 coupe, which he boosted to 800-plus horsepower with an APS twin-turbo kit and a forged motor.
"I wanted to 'spool' my C5, but back in the early days of the LS horsepower wars, Lingenfelter's $50,000 twin-turbo conversion was the only option I knew of. Eventually, the APS twin-turbo kit entered the market at a fraction of the price; it was well engineered and added 300 hp to a stock LS1. I had a great experience with it and knew that I would go back to APS for another kit someday," he says.
In 2006, Brandt bought an '07 Z new from Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City. Like many new Corvette owners, his intention was to leave it stock, but he changed his mind quickly when found its 505hp LS7 was too docile for him. "The twin-turbo C5 was much more fun to drive," he explains.
Vette Mag
"I fell in love with Corvettes when I was 7 years old," says Adam Brandt, a sales executive and part-time Vette tuner in Bethpage, New York. "My mom's boyfriend had a '77, and he used to give me rides in it. It instilled in me a lifelong passion for Chevrolet's flagship car."
Moving forward 16 years, Brandt purchased his first Vette, an '88 35th Anniversary coupe. Subsequent acquisitions included an '85 coupe, followed by onetime Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill's personal '00 Millennium Yellow convertible. Brandt eventually settled on a '97 coupe, which he boosted to 800-plus horsepower with an APS twin-turbo kit and a forged motor.
"I wanted to 'spool' my C5, but back in the early days of the LS horsepower wars, Lingenfelter's $50,000 twin-turbo conversion was the only option I knew of. Eventually, the APS twin-turbo kit entered the market at a fraction of the price; it was well engineered and added 300 hp to a stock LS1. I had a great experience with it and knew that I would go back to APS for another kit someday," he says.
In 2006, Brandt bought an '07 Z new from Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City. Like many new Corvette owners, his intention was to leave it stock, but he changed his mind quickly when found its 505hp LS7 was too docile for him. "The twin-turbo C5 was much more fun to drive," he explains.
Vette Mag
