Someone Built A 1,250-HP V16 From Two Chevy V8s, And It’s Going Into A Cadillac
With enthusiasts so desensitized to LS builds that they can border on mundane, unveiling one at SEMA would barely raise an eyebrow. Lucky for us, car builder Bryan Fuller of Fuller Moto went ahead and raised the bar by joining two Chevy LS-based V8 engines into a single V16, creating something that looks like it was cooked up by a mad scientist with only a passing interest in the size of a typical engine bay.
Yet this isn’t just a mechanical exercise to prove it can be done. Believe it or not, there’s an actual car waiting for this thing.
Fuller Moto Turned Two 427-Cubic-Inch V8s Into One 14-Liter Monster
The foundation for this wonderful monstrosity is a pair of 427-cubic-inch LS V8s from BluePrint Engines. Each displaces roughly 7.0 liters, giving the combined engine an enormous 854 cubic inches, or about 14 liters.
Rather than simply installing two separate engines in the same vehicle, Fuller and his team set out to create a single 16-cylinder powerplant, and making it work was a lot more involved than just bolting a pair of motors together and calling it a day.
The project required a combination of custom-fabricated, 3D-printed, and billet components to mate the two engines into one. The finished engine features two banks of cylinders on either side of its remarkably long structure, with exhaust headers that are almost comically elaborate. The resulting V16 is rated at a claimed 1,250 horsepower, although the engineering involved in combining the two engines might be more impressive than the output itself.
The engine was displayed at BluePrint Engines’ booth at the 2026 SEMA Show, where we were able to get an up-close look. But this V16 isn’t destined to spend its life sitting on a display stand being gawked at by over-caffeinated automotive journalists converging in Vegas.
Fuller Moto has something appropriately ridiculous planned for its new engine: a 19-foot Cadillac Fleetwood inspired by Hot Wheels.
The Cadillac project brought together a team of metal shapers and fabricators for an ambitious five-day builder challenge, with the V16 the centerpiece of the build.
It’s a fitting choice of vehicle. Cadillac has its own history with 16-cylinder engines, having introduced the original Cadillac V16 in 1930, when enormous engines were not just about performance, but a statement of engineering capability and luxury.
Fuller’s interpretation takes that philosophy in a less restrained direction. Instead of a stately luxury car made to glide effortlessly down the road, the project promises an extravagant custom Cadillac with four-figure horsepower and an engine unlike anything General Motors ever offered in a production Fleetwood.
For now, the V16 is complete, while the Cadillac itself remains a work in progress. There’s no word yet on when the finished car will be ready to drive, but Fuller has already captured the spirit of Hot Wheels: the sort of automotive absurdity that makes perfect sense when the whole car fits in the palm of your hand and stops you in your tracks when part of it shows up for real on the convention center floor.
Sources: BluePrint Engines, Cadillac
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