Cleetus McFarland, the YouTube sensation and car racer, has once again amazed his audience with the latest change to his raucous 2001 Chevrolet Corvette C5, which captured the world’s attention and is referred to as “Leroy the Savage.” The latest evolution was focused on creating a new custom fiberglass body for Leroy, similar to a funny car to better comply with drag racing rules, increase aerodynamics, and silence naysayers.

A History of Defying Expectations

His journey down the track could hardly be described as normal. From a humble stock Corvette at birth, it quickly became a high-powered drag race machine. Cleetus incrementally added to the performance with a string of upgrades consisting of an LSA supercharger then a single and twin turbos, and finally a 427 cubic inch LS engine. These modifications allowed Leroy to achieve a respectable quarter-mile time of 7.01 seconds at over 200 mph, making it one of the fastest stick-shift cars on earth.

The Genesis of a Daring Vision

The vision behind the creation of a fiberglass body for Leroy was born from a desire to enhance its aerodynamics, which might yield even greater speeds. Cleetus partnered up with Starr Creations, who specialize in producing quality fiberglass bodies. They designed and built the body using cutting-edge techniques and lightweight materials to provide an aesthetically pleasing form that blends various Corvette generations. CJ Race Cars fitted the body onto Leroy’s chassis, making for one great final product.

Testing the Limits

Now that the new body was complete, it was time to put Leroy through his paces. Cleetus took Leroy to the drag strip and attempted to conduct a series of test passes to compare its performance with and without the body (on the same tune). The results were phenomenal. On its very first full quarter-mile pass with the fiberglass body, Leroy the Savage achieved an astonishing 7.07 seconds at 204 mph. This equates to nearly a two-tenth of a second improvement and around 10 mph gain over its former best. The team was more than happy with the outcome even though the run produced some unanticipated damage. The small amount of air entering the cabin pressurized it, which in turn caused both doors to break loose from the car as it crossed the finishing line.

Road Ahead

While the doors gave Cleetus and his crew a bit of a surprise, they are not in any way discouraged. Modifications will have to be made to keep the doors on next time, but they are confident that Leroy can hit even faster times at the World Cup Finals. This project continues to push the boundaries of performance while entertaining millions of fans with great content.