2001
Wally Larson LE1 Groundfighter    
USA


Is it a car? Or a weapon? This exotic fully-built prototype has never made it into full production but gained notoriety across America as probably the most powerful street car ever made.

With that sort of scary performance it’s no surprise to learn that Wally’s Californian-based hot-rod engineering team used as many aircraft parts as car bits, including a bullet-proof fighter jet canopy from an F-16, wiring from a B-52 bomber and a mind-boggling array of 15 aircraft gauges in the cockpit.

There’s nothing as simple as a door to get into the Groundfighter. Instead the entire glass canopy tilts forward and one or two occupants have to clamber inside. The handmade composite body consists of three big panels which neatly pivot open hydraulically at the press of a button to allow access to the complex mechanical bits underneath.

Right in the centre of the car is a poor old Lexus alloy 32-valve V8 engine, designed for smooth and refined cruising in saloons like the LS400. Here it has been boosted into the world of science fiction by a hefty supercharger and an explosive mix of nitro-methanol fuel. The speeds the Groundfighter is capable of mean the driver and passenger may need to reach for the built-in air-masks and the car can use its parachute braking system if a brave cat runs out in front at 400mph.

The car has been built as a show car for Larson Engineering and is designed for making timed high-speed straight-line runs.

Will it fit your garage? The all-wheel-drive Groundfighter is only 38 inches high - but sadly it is a massive bus-like seven feet wide.


Engine: 3950cc V8
Power: 2000hp
0-60mph: 2.2secs
Top speed: 400mph/600kph estimated