Project Gotham
Build in progress, started 12/01/2024 - ETA: Phase 2 by the end of 2027. More info below photos/videos:
Project Gotham is a custom car, built, not bought (with a LOT of help). Drag & drive capable road legal 5,000HP pro-mod radial tire race car. The goal of this custom project car is to achieve a quarter mile in the low 6s while being able to handle traffic without overheating.
Fully water jacketed, intercooled, dual fuel tanks, one for top alcohol fuel (100% Methanol) the other for pump gas. 24 injectors. Weight is <3,000lbs (dry). A twin 98mm turbo Steve Morris SMX 5,000HP big block engine, billet 4L80e transmission, and more! Fully billet block, this car will require a lot of maintenance! It will also be a handful driving on the street. Ideal for early morning traffic free drives on the highway, and hitting the drag strip.
Gotham will be optimized for drag racing first, roll racing second. It prefers not to turn, but can be ecouraged to do so. Pure American Muscle. Other cars in the collection such as the McLaren 1,200S & Forumla Ian are built for road racing (circuits) and prioritize things such as "turning". Gotham Gotham will feature a rear end, suspension, and a lot of tech designed to encourage it to go in a straight line. We will also be sacrificing the C6 transaxle & torque tube setup in favor of a more reliable traditional ProMod drivetrain capable of handling the torque and immense power.
Locked rear end (no slip differential), billet 4L80, etc....
The biggest question I get with this build, is where can I use all of that power? Roll racing on the highway (in mexico) this thing will actually be able to put down 2,000HP to the pavement, on pump gas (91 octane) alone.
The goal will be to have 2,500-3000HP usable on a prepped surface (drag strip optimized for radial tires) within the quarter mile (above 200MPH trap). The remaining 3,500HP - 5,000HP would be for the half mile (above 200MPH) with the rear spoiler removed in the cars high speed trim. The car has 4 injectors per cylinder, 2 for pump gas (91 octane), 2 for alcohol (methanol). Two seperate fuel tanks in true drag & drive fashion. The ECU transitions to 100% methanol under high boost loads but always idles and runs at low RPM on pump gas.
Lacking a tube chassis, this will not be as lightweight as a true pro mod. Reinforced Stock Frame and driveline. Beautiful to look at, fun to drive, and amazing on the dyno! An actual HyperMuscle car, about fun, looks, and dyno figures. Decent quarter mile times. Pure american muscle. Not much else!
Phase 1 (chassis, body, show whees/tires, etc...): ETA 2026
- Custom 3D-printed + fiberglass molded custom body by legend Matt McEntegart with a cyberpunk/batmobile/max-max inspired look.
- Corvette C6 donor frame (none of the body will be used, only the metal frame rails will be preserved). Pretty much anything with a VIN on it is being kept, the rest thrown away. Calling this car a corvette c6 at this point wouldn't be fair to all the people which helped work on it.
- An Aim SW4 350mm GT steering wheel with all the buttons required to start & operate the car. Including blinkers, horn, gear shifting, engaging converter lockup, 2-step, bump, etc. The same wheel I had in my Formula car, just much bigger.
- Red/Black Recaro Podium CF bucket seats with a 6-point harness, HANS, + rollover protection (just a roll + harness bar for now, will do a full cage for phase 2).
- Custom interior. A custom dash running Unreal Engine with a 60” display controlled by an eye tracker. An additional display is fitted to the formula steering wheel.
- Y pipe valved exhaust (silent when needed, straight pipe under load).
- Adjustable ride height (KW HLS 4 lift system, all 4 corners). Helpful to clear speed bumps, but also for changing between the 24" show wheels to the 18" drag radials which have different ODs.
- 400mm radical break disks up front, ap racing 6 piston calipers. A weird / heavy (a lot of unsprung weight) combo for a pro mod, but I want this car to be safe on the street. I take brakes and harnesses very seriously.
- Wheels & Tires:
- Show Wheels: Flashy 24" red/black wheels for the street.
- Drag Wheels: Drag 18" billet + Beadlock wheels in the rear, skinnies up front. Can't go smaller than 18" with the massive 400mm break disks in the front.
- Road Racing Wheels: Slicks setup for road racing, 18" all around (squared up). Will be setup with Pirelli DH (Ferrari challenge slicks) or Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3Rs if being driven to the track.
- Stock 6 speed manual transmission (for a tiny bit until the billet 4l80e arrives in time for phase 2).
- Stock LS2 engine (for a tiny bit until the SML arrives in time for phase 2)
Note: this car is wider than a dulie truck, and much longer. With a ridiculous wheelbase and limited turning radius, this thing is a blast around town. At least I can raise the suspension up and down (hydraulic), but even then, the tall show wheels/tires are needed to keep this thing high enough off the road for the street when compared to the drag radials.
Phase 2 (More Power and a bit more weight! )
- Engine: 5,000+HP Steve Morris Big Block SMX Engine:
- Custom but 481X compatbible billet big block. Fully water jacketed. Can even run on pump gas but will have a deticated 100% methanoyl cell which the engine will transition to under heavy boost. Deticated fuel rales and injectors for pump gas and methanoyl.
- NA this engine produces over 1,000HP at the crank on pump gas. Slap on a couple 98nm+mm twin turbos, and it produces over 5,000HP on 100% methanol.
- This engine being all billet is not as heavy as you would think (when compared to the Stock LS2 in a C6).
- This billet big-block aluminum engine is fully water-jacketed and water-cooled. Designed for drag and drive. It’s capable of running on 100% methanol, Race Gas, pump gas, and E85. Attached to this engine will be two 98mm rear-mounted turbos, mounted remotely at the rear of the car while the engine sits up front. The vehicle will also feature a 2-step + rolling anti-lag. The car features a split-circuit intercooler, radiator, oil cooler, and transmission cooler.
- Twin 98mm turbos (remote rear mounted while the engine sits in the front).
- Air to Water intercoolers, Oil Cooler, Trans Cooler, Radiators. Divorced circuts. Ice Box.
- Transmission: 4-speed auto, Mark Micke Paddle-shifted billet 4L80E rated for up to 5,000HP w/ full converter lockup + overdrive.
- The 4L80E is similar to the transmissions used in the pro-mod category on most 4,000-5,000HP cars (Powerglide / Turbo 400), but features overdrive and full converter lockup to keep things cool in traffic and on the road (circuit) racing. A 4-speed with full converter lockup at the press of a button + a massive trans and oil cooler. I am also considering a Turbo 400 (instead of the 4L80E) with a paddle shift kit. However, by the time I add the paddle shift actuator, overdrive, and lockup converter, it becomes a 4L80E in terms of complexity and weight. It can be easier to obtain high-horsepower pro-mod parts for a Turbo 400 at events. Parts availability is the main advantage I see in this particular case of a turbo 400 w/ overdrive + lockup + shift kit over a 4L80.
- Reinforced frame, subframes, upgraded driveline (axles, driveshaft, etc...).
- A full cage.
I don’t expect this car to be quicker around a road racing circuit than my ultra lightweight McLaren 1,200S, or better at drag racing than an actual 100% non drag & drive pro mod! But it will be a blast! (hopefully not literally). It will be capable of producing 2,500HP continuous road racing in ambient air temps below 100f (close to sea level), and above 5,000HP in short bursts on methanol (for drag racing).
A dream would for this car to be decent road racing (close to but slower than my McLaren 1,200S and much slower than my Formula Car) while getting into the high 6s in the quarter mile. This build is muscle first, handling second. A swapable rear end, swapable to a limited slip differential etc...
