LS swaps are insanely popular throughout the wide world of motorsports, but they seem to be a dominant force in the world of sand cars or sand rails. In the early days, these lightweight off-road vehicles were powered by air-cooled VW and Chevy Covair engines,  but like all genres of motorsports more powerful vehicles evolved as parts improved and the sport gained popularity.

Previously, the Cadillac Northstar engine was favored in high-end sand car builds, but the LS engine has now taken center stage. Thanks to the availability of parts and aftermarket support, LS engines have become king of the dunes. There are certainly other engines used in these insane cars, including a few original style sand rails complete with VW engines, but the modern sand rail is typically powered by an LS1.

During a recent pre-holiday weekend in Glamis, California, this freelancer was given the opportunity to experience the sand dunes in a supercharged LS1 sand rail. First off, this is either a love it or hate it deal; after hearing this statement numerous times from desert regulars it seemed a little ominous, but anything fast is usually fun. Around 10:30am Saturday morning, it was time to experience the renowned sand dunes.

Each of the three sand rails in this group was powered by an LS-engine; the red and silver car is powered by a supercharged LS1, the blue car houses an LS2, and the red car is powered by naturally aspirated LS1. Once all of the passengers and drivers were strapped into their seats with 5-point harnesses (much like those found in a drag car, except for the extra padding) and the V8 engines roared to life, it was time to see what all of the hype was truly about.

As the cars pulled out of camp and hit the low road by the canal, with the first significant nudge of the throttle it became very clear – these things haul ass. After a short ride on the high road, the drivers departed the beaten path in favor of open space and soft sand. Moments later the LS powered sand rails tore through the open sand until they hit dunes; as you see a sand rail driving across the face of a massive sand dune it is a marvel of physics and suspension. These cars any defied preconceived notions of how a vehicle can or should travel across an unpaved surface. Flying through the dunes, up, down, left then right and with the vantage point from a rear seat limiting any chance to knowing which direction the car would travel next made for a wild ride.

Like many forms of motorsports, sand rails are extremely competitive and have the potential to be insanely fast. With a variety of terrain features such as bowls, dunes, whoops, roads, hills and the sand drags, there is a little something for everyone. One Glamis terrain feature dubbed Oldsmobile Hill is big, no doubt about it; watching these sand rails with V8 pull the front tires off the ground going up and down the monstrous hill is a sight to behold.  If mobbing up or down the hill is not your thing, then perhaps the sand drags might be a better fit. Basically, this is a strip of sand where wide-open throttle is mandatory and the bigger the roost, the badder the car.

Sunday’s ride was a long trip, with a detour through the dunes before hitting a “road” where the cars could be opened up. Flying across the sand at over 70 MPH through some sections of the “road” was just awesome. As if the music of the supercharged LS1, the roar of the LS2, or throaty exhaust note of the naturally aspirated LS1 was not enough for the passengers each of these cars featured an iPod connection for some musical accompaniment via the onboard stereo.

Overall, the experience of LS powered vehicles on non-paved surfaces was an amazing experience. After the first ride through the dunes, these LS powered sand rails will make you question the countless hours spent at drag strips or road courses. The combination of General Motors V8 power and long travel suspension is addicting.