We’ve covered plenty of sketchy go-kart builds on Motor1. However, none look quite as dangerous as this C5 Corvette powered example that we recently spotted on TikTok. Referred to as C5F1, this little rascal was built by Nick Yarbrough.
Contrary to the name, Yarbrough built the kart as a drift-specific vehicle. With a lightly modified LS6 in the back, it’s no surprise that this thing is a certified tire slayer. The only substantial modification to the motor involved swapping in LS3 heads. He says that the vehicle is currently running on a set of Kenda Kaiser KR20A tyres – which aren’t the grippiest in the world.
While the LS6 produces roughly 385 bhp (287 kilowatts), Yarbrough says that the previous owner didn’t take very good care of the motor. He says that it’s essentially leaking from every seal and the transmission fluid remains super dark, even after adding a substantial amount.
Semantics aside, this beast very loosely reminds us of a 1970’s era Formula 1 car without the body panels installed. Sure, it’s merely a kart in its current form, but the forward-biased driver position appears to be heavily inspired by the cars of that era. The C5F1 currently has roll bars for a racing harness, but there are no plans to fit a proper roll cage quite yet – the biggest worry is hot fluids spraying onto the driver.
Being a lightweight package with little to no weight to carry around, this thing has the makings of the ultimate track weapon. A quick browse through TikTok shows videos of the C5F1 drifting around cones and slaying tyres.
Sources: Nick Yarbrough via TikTok, Chisleu via Reddit, Perspective Photography via Imgur