Often seen as the red-headed stepchild of the Corvette family, Chevrolet's C7 generation — although, a step in the proper styling direction — could never quite live up to the appeal of its C6 sibling. Many were clamoring for this to be the first mid-engine Corvette, but in classic GM fashion, a last-minute decision to cut costs left the C7's engine in the front of the car.
The biggest indication of the C7's disappointment? The fact that GM still had thousands of Vette's for sale just months before the arrival of the mid-engine C8 in 2020. However, for people like Gavin of the "itsjusta6" automotive YouTube channel, the C7 still proves to be an inexpensive way into the last, front-engine Corvette.
Although popular opinion might rank the C7 low on the list of Corvettes, it proved to be one of Chevrolet's most successful grand tourer racing cars taking home a few IMSA championships, a couple of Constructor's Cups, and a win at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans which many believe is the pinnacle of motorsport.
So when Gavin finally gets his modified C7 back from the shop, it became the perfect excuse to test its racing heritage on the track for the 4th of July weekend.
Doling out 455 horsepower from the factory, the C7 is no slouch on the tarmac. However, with some slight modifications, one can take a stock C7 and turn it into a supercar killer for not a lot of money.
Which is exactly what Gavin did with this Vette. After wrapping the car in full camo, building a new exhaust system, and swapping the cam for a high-performance big cam, this C7 is now more closely related to the C7.R that dominated the racetrack for a decade. In today's video, he takes the build a step farther by adding a handful of body modifications to make the Vette look as fast as it advertises.
After completing an entire front-end swap, adding aerodynamics to the wing, and a bevy of other mods, Gavin was ready to hit the track. However, before hitting the track, Gavin plans a new car purchase that he's keeping a secret until it debuts on his channel later this month.
After ripping around the track for a handful of laps, we go on board with Gavin. Slamming through the gears makes this Vette truly look like a world-class supercar. The unique part of this video? Gavin plans to give this C7 away to one of his followers. We can't blame him for wanting to track it before giving it to an unsuspecting fan.