Introducing the 800 HP Yenko sYc Corvette
Southern California is usually envisioned as a sunny paradise, an escape from the cold and inclement weather. Not this time, it was bucketing rain as we approached Classic Industries in Huntington Beach. The brand has become one of the largest one-stop shops for American muscle car parts in the United States. Their catalog of parts is kept on-site in their massive facility and shipped around the world.
As the Editor of LS1tech.com, I was invited by the brand to their HQ to check out the facility and be in attendance for an exciting announcement. Also in attendance was Manuel Carrillo III, the Editor of our sister site CorvetteForum.com. The folks at Classic had anticipated the poor weather and set up large tents outside of the building covering some of the amazing automobiles that they had a hand in building. C.I.’s classic car pedigree was shining through the gloomy weather. There were SEMA builds, cars from shows like Chop Cut Rebuild and customer cars shined up to the highest order. Here were a few of them:
Soon we were whisked inside. Classic Industries’ top brass, including it’s founder were in attendance. A special someone ambled into the room moments later. It was none other than baseball legend Reggie Jackson. Turns out that Jackson is a diehard Chevy guy and is working with the folks at Classic on some interesting projects. He introduced “Reggie’s Garage,” a website devoted to his collection and a rather slick parts catalog for classic Chevy stuff. Seems like Classic Industries is really branching out with different projects.
After a Q&A with Mr. Jackson we were again whisked through another set of doors. Sitting under a black cover was the Yenko. Everyone gathered ’round as someone came to the forefront. This is what happened next:
Here is the Scoop on Yenko
The man introducing this Yenk’ified Corvette is David Hamburger of Specialty Vehicle Engineering (SVE). If those names sound familiar, they should. David is the son of American racing legend Ed Hamburger. It was Hamburger Sr. who, among other things, formed Street Legal Performance (SLP). Yes, the same SLP who worked hand-in-hand with General Motors to produce performance parts that could be ordered through your GM dealer. Ed Hamburger sold off SLP to focus full time on creating specialty vehicles, and thus SVE was born. Classic Industries owns the rights to the “Yenko” name and knew that SVE was the perfect outfit to modify vehicles under the Yenko name while working with the dealerships. Classic Industries worked with SVE to bring the glory back to the Yenko name. A muscle car match made in heaven.
Details on the Car, Please!
Gladly! SVE starts with a Corvette Grand Sport as the base. From there the bottom end of the LT1 V8 engine is built up with stronger rods and pistons and the engine receives custom heads. The engine’s displacement is then kicked out 416 cubic inches, aka 6.8L. They do that so when the 2.9L blower is bolted on and 800 horsepower is pushed through those eight cylinders, combustion can occur without bending rods. Yes, the Yenko Corvette makes 800 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque. Are you curious what “sYc” means? It’s adorned to the craziest Yenko cars on the road after all, and it’s all over this Corvette. It stands for “Yenko super car,” which this insane Corvette definitely embodies the spirit of.
From there, the rest of the car receives many visual flourishes including the the seats, exhaust and rear fascia treatment and all manner of things black and red-rimmed. The Yenko treatment costs about $30,000, and can be done in under a week. If you want one, you will have to act fast. You are looking at car #1 of 50. There will only be 50 Yenko Corvettes made this year. Order a shiny new Corvette Grand Sport through your local dealer, tick the right boxes for the Yenko package and for about the same price as a Z06, you can have an 800 horsepower, built motor ‘Vette carrying the prestige of the Yenko name. What a glorious age to be alive, when you can have an 800 horsepower Corvette with a warranty.
Want to know more about SVE? Check them out here.
Many thanks to Classic Industries for inviting us out. Hopefully next time we’ll be behind the wheel of the next Yenko creation.
Jake Stumph is the Content Editor behind LS1tech.com. He is an avid racer and car enthusiast. He considers himself very lucky to be able to write about cars. You can follow him on Facebook and YouTube.
