LS-powered offroad vehicles are taking over the deserts, dune and dirt at an ever-increasing pace on a worldwide scale. However, southern California is home to a plethora of performance shops offering some of the wildest LS-powered offroad machines to ever see the dirt. Seen here is a video documenting a fun day in desert near Barstow, California with Orange County Sandcars creation named “Lil Red.” This little 4-seater car is prepped and ready to scare the crap out of any passengers thanks to the combination of light weight and a more than adequate supply of power. In appearance “Lil Red” resembles a Meyers Manx; the Manx is one of the first dune buggies to enter the offroad market place. In the beginning these cars were powered by much smaller and less powerful engines than those of the modern era, being built on Volkswagen Beetle running gear.

Orange County Sandcars’ “Lil Red” is powered by a 500 horsepower LS3 engine and the power-to-weight-to-fun ratio goes through the roof on this badass machine. Seeing the car rip and tear through the desert terrain, catching air and kicking up some massive roosts, all we can do is drool. According to the video the car is plenty capable of achieving 70-80 miles per hour through the Barstow desert. Imagine how much fun a lightweight offroad Corvette-powered machine could be, let alone the stress relief from wide open throttle in the open desert? For a price, Orange County Sandcars can build an on-road and offroad Corvette-powered buggy for you too.