In 1987, Hot Rod Magazine staffers Pat Ganahl and Gray Baskerville documented the effects of rapid weight removal on a 1970 Cadillac as it made repeated trips down the 1/4 mile in Palmdale, California.

The car began race day tipping the scales at 7,000 lbs and ended it at roughly 3,000 lbs while lowering its dragstrip performance by four seconds and going 20 miles per hour faster. In 2010 David Freiburger decided to see if the results would be similar on a road course, this time using a C4 Corvette. Chad Reynolds owned the car and I had a small shop do the pre-wrecking prep to make sure the Corvette stayed running now matter what was cut, sliced, ground or smashed off of it.

The result was a moon buggy-looking deathtrap we called the Vette Kart and yes, it did run quicker around the road course—but you wouldn’t wanna get caught in a car crash. You can still find the early Vette Hack video on the Hot Rod Magazine YouTube channel.

Since that fateful day, the Vette Kart has received a proper roll cage, a better engine, longer travel suspension, a stout Quick Performance 9 inch rearend, and coilovers robbed from a UTV we found on Facebook Marketplace. It’s still a Corvette, though, as the original fiberglass tub, steering and suspension pickup points are intact. The result is a man-size go kart that is at home in the dirt as it is the road course and a vehicle that I’m proud to say that I now own.

The best part is that after you buy this cuddly soft Finnegan Speed and Marine homage to the SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF HOT Rods, you can then go buy a worn out C4 and turn it into your own version of the Vette Kart for minimal dollars and have the time of your time. I dare ya!