[VIDEO] C8 Corvette Stingray with World’s First 8.1-Liter Big Block V8 Hits the Freeway

Jun 2, 2026

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C8 Corvette Stingray with World's First 8.1-Liter Big Block V8 Hits the Freeway

For more than three and a half years, San Diego engine wizard Larry Hofer has been chasing a dream most Corvette owners wouldn’t dare attempt: stuffing a massive 8.1 liter big block into the middle of a C8 Corvette. Now, that dream is finally alive — running, driving, and surprising everyone with how civilized it feels.

Hofer, the longtime big block expert behind Raylar Engineering, literally wrote the book on GM’s 8.1 liter Vortec platform. So when he pulled the stock LT2 out of his Stingray after just 4,000 miles, people called him crazy. He called it a challenge.

And now, after years of fabrication, wiring, machining, tuning, and trial and error, the world’s first direct injected, variable valve timing 8.1L big block C8 is officially on the freeway.

In the latest update on Greg Quirin’s YouTube channel, Hofer takes the car out for a freeway test loop — not to show off, but to see how the engine behaves at real world speeds.

The surprising part? It behaves beautifully.

The big block cruises quietly at 80–90 mph, shifts smoothly through the dual clutch transmission, and shows none of the violent behavior you’d expect from a hand built 8.1 liter stuffed into a space never meant for it.

There are still issues — a persistent frunk sensor warning, and a handful of misfires on cylinders 1 and 7 — but nothing that stops the car from running cleanly down the highway.

The drivability is improved big time, Hofer notes during the test.

“If you were just driving down the freeway, you’d never give it a second thought.”

This isn’t a junkyard 8.1. Hofer has transformed the engine with:

• Direct injection
• Variable valve timing
• Custom tuning
• A redesigned combustion chamber
• A new intake system currently in development

The goal is simple: combine old school displacement with modern precision. The result is an 8.1 liter that idles quietly, pulls smoothly, and barely makes a sound at cruise.

Even with the car 95% complete, Hofer isn’t satisfied. He wants more visual drama — and more performance potential. So he’s now engineering a custom intake with eight individual throttle bodies, one for each cylinder.

It’s a wild idea. It’s also exactly the kind of thing Hofer is known for.

During the update, he demonstrates the prototype system: the throttle blades opening and closing in perfect sync as the computer commands them. It’s all custom built — modified C8 throttle body parts, hand fabricated brackets, and a temporary mock up to test the concept.

“I was so happy when this worked, I couldn’t stand myself,” Hofer says with a grin.

Once finished, the ITB setup should deliver sharper response, a more exotic sound, and a visual punch worthy of the world’s only big block C8.

No sane person would try this. The C8’s mid engine layout leaves almost no room for a big block. Everything had to be custom designed — oil lines, brackets, wiring, fuel rails, sensors, tuning strategies, even the throttle body geometry.

He’s pulled the engine in and out of the car at least 10 times during development.

But now, the payoff is here.

The car runs. It drives. It hits freeway speeds. And it’s only getting better.

Hofer estimates the project is almost there. The remaining tasks:

• Smooth out the idle
• Eliminate the misfires
• Fix the frunk sensor
• Finish the ITB intake
• Finalize tuning

Once that’s done, the world will have something truly unprecedented: a mid engine Corvette powered by a modernized 8.1 liter big block — a combination nobody else has dared to build.

And judging by the latest test drive, it’s going to be worth every hour Hofer has poured into it.