You can now buy a GM V8 that makes 864kW

With many of us having a little extra time on our hands, now is the perfect time to finish putting together that project car that has been sitting in the corner of the garage.

If you need a little motivation, and a little oomph, we’ve found you the perfect engine to slot into engine bay.

Enter US engine builder Katech, and its new LT5 Track Attack crate engine, which was released to the world earlier this month.

According to Katech, its latest creation makes a cool 864kW (that’s 1159 horsepower in old money), and 1441Nm. Even in the heaviest of vehicles, that’s going to get you moving at one hell of a rate.

For reference, that’s considerably more power and torque than Mopar’s 746kW/1288Nm 7.0-litre ‘Hellephant’ crate engine.

The LT5 is a favourite of GM enthusiasts, with the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 best known for powering the Chevrolet C7 Corvette ZR1.

When sold by GM as a crate motor, the LT5 produces 563kW and 969Nm, but that wasn’t enough for Katech, so they designed and built some choice upgrades.

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For the Track Attack, you can choose between two different blowers to sit atop the V8 – a Magnuson TBVS 2560 supercharger, or a CNC-ported unit of Katech’s own design.

Displacement increases to 6.4-litres, while compression has also gone up from 10.1:1, to 10.3:1. Also helping turn fuel into sweet, sweet horsepower are Diamond Pistons and Competition Valves.

How much will this horsepower cost? Well, it won’t be cheap. The other ‘Track Attack’ engine that Katech offers is based on the LT1, and dubbed ‘The Beast’.

Producing a naturally-aspirated 601kW and 867Nm, The Beast costs US$32,817 (A$47,774).

It’d be fair to estimate the more powerful and complex LT5 Track Attack will cost more than that, so budget accordingly.

Katech has history with high-powered Corvette engines, being the supplier for the C5.R and C6.R race cars that competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so it's fair to say it's learned a thing or two about mechanical durability.