Behold the Geo Metro With an LS4 V8 Engine Swap You Never Thought Was Possible

You might probably don’t remember it, being such an unremarkable vehicle, but the Geo Metro is an economy car jointly developed by General Motors and Suzuki. Its biggest engine option was a four-cylinder with a 1.3-liter displacement that delivered 80-horsepower.

As you can imagine, this had a Prius-like mileage without the hybrid tech, but also drove like a drunk turtle. Probably Ben Schmidt from Wisconsin was traumatized by Metro’s lack of performance, so he decided to make it into a proper sportscar, a mid-engine one no less.

The work started from a 5.3-liter LS4 V8 that he modified himself with an electric water pump and other mods. He also fitted a Cadillac 4T80e transaxle to send that 303-horsepower to the wheels. The body was reinforced using tubes, including a roll hoop. Everything was nicely packed in the back of the Metro and we must say we like how he worked everything out.

As you’d expect, having all that weight at the back of the car makes the whole thing highly unstable at high speed. Ben mentions the mid-engine Metro is hard to control above 65 mph due to excessive oversteer, but he’s confident it can sort this out. Probably not, this being one of the reasons he wants to sell the beast before it kills him.

Have you noticed the fuel tank is in front, where the engine used to be? That is a ticking bomb and considering how unstable this car is, it’s only a matter of time until someone will crash it. We imagine spilling all the gasoline would turn the Metro into a giant barbeque.

Anyway, if you’re daring (and crazy) enough, drop Ben a message and prepare the $7,000 cheque that signs you up for the wacky racing season. Or you could take that engine out and give it another try with a proper body this time.