Video: Twin Turbo LSX Formula Makes 1,700 Horsepower, Runs 7.60’s

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Ignore the superfluous apostrophe.

The GM LS family of engines has proven itself to be a serious maker of horsepower, and that skill is on full display in this video of Steve Smith’s incredible twin-turbo Firebird.

The car relies on a 425-cube LSX engine that’s stuffed full of 37 pounds of boost thanks to a pair of Precision Turbo 7675 turbochargers. An air-to-water intercooler system is on board, and the car pumps out north of 1,700 horsepower through a two-speed Powerglide transmission.

In this video, the ‘Bird hangs ’em high and carries the wheels to a 7.60 at over 185 MPH – an insane number when you realize that the car weighs in at over 3,600 pounds with the driver onboard. Even more impressive is that the feat is done on street tires, from a real street-driven car – notice the license plate and Mickey Thompson DOT radials out back!

The debate between street car and race car is always a healthy one with no real answer. To some, if it’s legal to be on the road and you can get a tag for it, then it’s a ‘street car’. To others, the car needs to be able to pass emissions requirements and run on pump fuel, whether that fuel be 93 octane or E85. 

And then, on the top side of the equation, you have Pro Mod-style machines like Andy Frost’s Red Victor 3 Vauxhall that turns in 6.40’s at over 225 MPH across the pond – but has a tag on it and is considered street legal in England. 

We say if you can get tags for it, and can afford to cruise it around on the street with race fuel on board then have at it – that’s a street car to us. We’ve seen plenty of super-radical cars over the years being enjoyed responsibly by their owners on the street, then taken to the track to do the deed.

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Thanks to ThatRacingChannel for the footage.

About the author

Jason Reiss

Jason draws on over 15 years of experience in the automotive publishing industry, and collaborates with many of the industry's movers and shakers to create compelling technical articles and high-quality race coverage.
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