HIDDEN AGENDA

ROCKING AN LS AND REAR-MOUNTED TURBO SET-UP GOOD FOR 800HP, KELVIN MANN'S VS UTE CAUGHT THEM UNAWARES AT DRAG CHALLENGE 2024

- STORY KIAN HEAGNEY

IF YOU'RE a big fan of the Iron Lion and got excited when you saw what's under the bonnet of Kelvin Mann's 1997 VS Commodore ute, we've got some sad news for you. What you're actually looking at is a carefully disguised 6.0-litre L76 LS. And to make matters worse, there's a Pulsar G42 1450 turbo hidden in the tub where the fuel tank used to be!

“I always had that vision in my head of keeping it sleeper like that; I like to keep people guessing!” Kelvin says. “It has caused a fair few arguments online with confused people – I just let them fight it out amongst themselves.”

Kelvin's sleeper ute idea first started to come together when he got an LS, a Paul Rogers-built Powerglide and a PWR water-to-air intercooler from his mate Brett Lowing. The combo had done a solid job in Brett's Mitsubishi Sigma at several Drag Challenges, so it felt right to repurpose it for another DC build.

“Brett is going to another level with his car - twin-turbo and all that - so this car has his old fuel system and a bunch of parts,” explains Kelvin. “He and I nutted out all the fab for the rear turbo system. He likes to be very thorough with stuff like this.”