Anyone who has walked the paddocks at Gatebil has a shared experience: the sound of rev limiters echoing in the distance, wild builds pushing the limits of imagination and a community where ‘too much’ simply doesn’t exist. We’ve all seen the craziness that goes on in Scandinavia and somehow, it gets crazier every year.
In the middle of this controlled chaos is Marcus Östlid, a Stockholm-based traveling technician, whose passion for racing has fueled one of the coolest cars I’ve ever seen compete in the Gatebil Extreme class. As the founder of Team Insane Racing, Marcus has carved out a reputation for doing things differently.
Marcus’s path into motorsport wasn’t a sudden decision. Like many Scandinavian gear heads, his passion was fueled by fascination – and watching a family member going at it. “It started when I was a little kid, watching my dad fixing his car in the garage. After that I went crazy..” Marcus says.
That spark grew into decades of racing and modifying cars, ultimately constructing some of the most extreme machines to hit Scandinavian race tracks. But modifying only gets you so far; to achieve the level of performance he was after, he needed to build something unique – and that required starting from the ground up.
What Marcus eventually is nothing short of Insane. A fully homemade, tube-frame, C6 Chevrolet Corvette ‘GT2’. The project began in 2018, and it took just five months for the car to roll out for its first tests.
“Building a race car from scratch leads to many problems and issues that need solving,” Marcus recalls. Whether a structural challenge, aero adjustments or engine quirks, every inch of the Corvette demanded thought and innovation. Many challenges were tackled with the help of his team…and a few ex-girlfriends who supported the madness along the way.
The Corvette’s chassis is a custom spaceframe, designed and fabricated by Marcus. The car is suspended on KW three-way competition coilovers on all four corners. Time attack alignment settings include approximately three degrees of front camber with a slight toe-out, and 1.5 degrees of rear camber with a slight toe-in. Polyurethane bushings are used everywhere, for their extreme durability.
As for brakes, AP Racing hardware is installed front and rear. The wheels are custom NTM race items measured in 18×12-inch (front) and 18×13-inch (rear) wrapped in Yokohama slick tires (300/65/18 and 330/71/18 respectively). A square set of OZ 18×12-inch wheels are set aside for wet conditions, paired with Michelin rain tires.
The car’s weight distribution sits at a near perfect 50:50 balance, but Marcus is still working to lower the ride height for better aero efficiency.
Marcus and his team wanted a body worthy of the monster that was being built. For that, they made a full carbon fiber C6 GT2 inspired shell, custom molded and clear coated just to show off. There are no off-the-shelf body panels here. Everything was made in-house.
From the APR GT3 mirrors to the featherweight doors and fenders, the entire exterior is built for performance. The aerodynamics are equally extreme – this is a time attack car after all. The rear features a massive APR GT-2000 dual-element wing, capable of some serious downforce, while the front splitter, floor and rear diffuser were all built by Marcus himself.
The inside is what you would expect from a time attack car; all business, no pleasure. Two Sparco Circuit II seats are paired with RRS 6-point harnesses, while a custom carbon dashboard houses a MoTeC digital instrument display.
The Corvette bangs through its gears via a paddle system that’s connected to a Samsonas sequential transmission. Having that kind of gearbox must mean the car packs some serious punch, right?
Of course. At the heart of the Corvette is a 427 LSX engine, built to Marcus’s specifications. I’ll include an entire specs list at the end of this article – know some of you have been requesting those. Thanks to the setup tuned by Autogruppen in Mellerud, Sweden, the engine produces 1037hp at the rear wheels and 1347Nm of torque at 0.5bar of boost – running on E85 fuel.
As for cooling, Marcus and his team installed a massive rear-mounted cooling system with aero-optimised air intakes – that have been in development for many years.
Since the Corvette’s last full refresh, the car has only completed two events, meaning it’s ready for more on-track chaos.
Marcus hints at future builds and new projects, but he’s clear on one thing: he still has unfinished business with the Corvette. With more testing, refining and goals to hit, Team Insane Racing are far from done here.
This Corvette is just one of the many time attack cars that compete in Scandinavia, but it’s one of the few that truly stand out.
There is one more, however, in the neighboring country of Norway that I have yet to show you. I’ll give you a couple of hints. It’s yellow, Japanese and you have never seen anything like it. Stay tuned.
This Corvette certainly looks the part for Gatebil imagine the sound of that V8 as it is being sent on the track