Perth Motorplex is the home of the 46th Annual Westernationals — the biggest drag racing event in West Australia, taking place over 2 days, and included more than 10 brackets. Entering the competition for the prestigious title in their LS powered Pontiac GTO, Sam and Lorenzo Gullotto knew they had a real shot.
With a whole family worth of experience in racing and high performance engines, in 2018, Lorenzo won 3rd place overall at Drag Challenge in his 1400-horsepower VL Calais. Borrowing from that success while Lorenzo’s VL is getting a few set up changes, the brothers started with the Calais’ 388 cubic-inch LS Dart block, gave it a fresh top end and a GTX55 94mm turbo, and put it in place of the GTO’s old 500 cubic-inch big block.
The 388 cubic inch LS Dart engine powered Lorenzo’s VL Calais for a fastest quarter mile run of 7.65 @ 180mph just one year prior at Drag Challenge 2018. However, with Sam behind the wheel and without a whole lot of chassis tuning, the GTO made it through the quarter mile in just 6.691 seconds at 211.94 mph.
The record setting run for the fastest LS powered car in the country surprised Lorenzo, even though he was well aware of what the engine was capable of. “It took us a little bit by surprise with how quickly it did it,” he said. “We didn’t even really do that much chassis tuning or set-up, so it was good to get the record.”
While there hasn’t been any official word of it yet, there is talk that the team has also set the record for the fastest LS with a hydraulic roller cam. Either way, the title of fastest LS powered car in Australia has been claimed and it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers come out of the GTO next.
Elizabeth is a hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
