In what has to be one of the most unexpected engine
swaps we’ve seen lately, someone has fitted an LS3 V8 and all-wheel drive to
the Chevy Sonic subcompact. American Rally Association rallycross driver Pat Moro and his PMR
Motorsports crew have likely created the world’s most bonkers rallycross
machine. They shoehorned a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 engine in an all-wheel-drive
Chevrolet Sonic rally car.
Details remain scarce at this point, as the team is
currently teasing the vehicle before an official launch next year. The car was
on display recently at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in
Indianapolis but the crew didn’t disclose any information.
The Sonic V8 will go
racing at various American Rally Association events across the United States
next year. Assuming the LS3 V8 is in stock form, then the Sonic boasts 430 hp
and 576 Nm of torque. That should be enough to make it
really quick and way noisier than the average turbocharged four-cylinder
rallycross cars.
Along with the eight-cylinder engine it shares with
the Chevy SS and various Holden performance models, the Sonic also got a
wide-body kit, a massive rear wing, racing front seats with six-point
harnesses, as well as the obligatory roll cage and fire extinguisher system. The Sonic V8 rally car will be driven in ARA
rallycross events in 2019 by team co-owner Pat Moro assisted by Ole Holter in
the co-driver’s seat.
