Photo: Kuhnhausen metal concepts
Just take a quick look at this seemingly pristine 1964 Chevrolet Corvette, then take a second, deeper glance so you catch all the little hints. This is no ordinary vintage rebuild, because while the “Ballistic Beige” definitely keeps its 1960s charm, everything that’s hidden out of sight has just one goal in mind: high performance.
This spectacular C2 ‘Vette has been created by Kuhnhausen Metal Concepts LLC, a little fabrication and customization shop founded and operated by Kyle Kuhnhausen since 2014. While his name might not sound familiar for many, SEMA aficionados might remember he was the winner of the 2018 Battle of the Builders Young Guns (under 27) category.
Now he’s back among the top 12 finalists of this year’s edition of the competition, going there with “Ballistic Beige,” a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette that started off as a tribute project for the owner’s previous 1963 Corvette that was among his first hot rods back in the 1990s.
There’s virtually no surprise the judges of the SEMA Battle of the Builders decided to select this example among the top custom builds – it's crystal clear that everything is not just of the highest quality, but it’s also backed up with impressive performance credentials (and a no-expenses-spared check, probably).
So, the nickname is easy to understand – it comes from the exterior color’s elegant demeanor and its predisposition to tear up the tarmac every time the driver opens the throttle. Both the exterior and interior don’t stray too far from a classic American sports car look.
But, on the other hand, we can bet the ‘64 will be capable of shaming a lot of modern sports cars with its up to snuff maneuverability and bespoke performance. Underneath the body resides an Art Morrison IRS chassis that was modified by Kuhnhausen, double-adjustable coilovers from JRi Shocks, Willwood brakes, and huge tires wrapped around those Forgeline LS3 alloys.
There’s no word on actual power, but it doesn’t even matter because we know KMC used a Chevrolet Performance supercharged LT4 6.2-liter crate engine (rated at 640 hp) before kicking off some tailored modifications. The 4l75E transmission is mated to a QA1 carbon fiber driveshaft and Strange Engineering S60 IRS differential just to make sure everything copes with the copious number of modifications.
Now he’s back among the top 12 finalists of this year’s edition of the competition, going there with “Ballistic Beige,” a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette that started off as a tribute project for the owner’s previous 1963 Corvette that was among his first hot rods back in the 1990s.
There’s virtually no surprise the judges of the SEMA Battle of the Builders decided to select this example among the top custom builds – it's crystal clear that everything is not just of the highest quality, but it’s also backed up with impressive performance credentials (and a no-expenses-spared check, probably).
So, the nickname is easy to understand – it comes from the exterior color’s elegant demeanor and its predisposition to tear up the tarmac every time the driver opens the throttle. Both the exterior and interior don’t stray too far from a classic American sports car look.
But, on the other hand, we can bet the ‘64 will be capable of shaming a lot of modern sports cars with its up to snuff maneuverability and bespoke performance. Underneath the body resides an Art Morrison IRS chassis that was modified by Kuhnhausen, double-adjustable coilovers from JRi Shocks, Willwood brakes, and huge tires wrapped around those Forgeline LS3 alloys.
There’s no word on actual power, but it doesn’t even matter because we know KMC used a Chevrolet Performance supercharged LT4 6.2-liter crate engine (rated at 640 hp) before kicking off some tailored modifications. The 4l75E transmission is mated to a QA1 carbon fiber driveshaft and Strange Engineering S60 IRS differential just to make sure everything copes with the copious number of modifications.
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