Cheetah Evolution - LS9
This is a completely engineered and developed vehicle by Ruth Engineering & Racing, Inc. It is example number 18 out of 23 complete cars manufactured. The chassis is a round tube racecar type construction with an integrated roll cage. The structure from the firewall to behind the seats is sheet steel monocoque structure designed to create strength and stability. The body design represents our vision of what a modern, street driven version of the original Thomas cheetah would be. All of our tooling for the chassis design and body molds were developed by us, in house. All cars are build from scratch using our tooling and fixtures. The front windshield is a laminated DOT approved piece, built from tooling we designed and developed. The rear window is optically clear acrylic. Our body design with pillars in the doors allows us to manufacture and install side windows as well. The front suspension a-arms and steering arms are Alcoa alloy units. Coil-overs shocks are used. The rear suspension is a combination of a Alcoa alloy bearing carrier and outer axle shaft and in-house manufactured components. The differential is a Winters IRS in 4:10 ratio. The front and rear brakes are Wilwood 6 piston and 4 piston with a Wilwood parking brake caliper as well. The fuel tank is manufactured by us and uses a Fuelab in-tank pump and is boost regulated through a Fuelab regulator and filters.
This particular example uses a GM Performance crate LS9 supercharged engine producing 638 HP. It utilizes all GM control unit, front drive system and dry sump oil tank and system. This is connected to a GM flywheel and Mcloed twin disc clutch using an alloy bellhousing and Tremec T-56 Magnum 6 speed manual transmission. There is a H-yoke and slip yoke drive shaft between the transmission and differential.
The main radiator is our designed unit manufactured by Afco cooling. It uses a Derale fan and control. The engine also uses an Afco radiator and fan unit for the supercharger. There is a condensor in front for the AC unit manufactured by Restomod Air.
The headers are built by Kromer Craft for our vehicles. The side pipes are our design and utilize the same manufacturing process as the factory reproduction midyear Corvette side pipes. This car uses a custom steering column with wood wheel with GM style connector for turn signals and horn. The rack is a power steering unit and is fed by the GM pump driven off of the supercharger pulley.
The wheels are American Racing Torque thrust with painted grey centers. They are 17x9.5 rear and 17x9 front. The tires are Mickey Thompson ET street radials in the rear at 305/45R17 and Mickey Thompson street comp in the front at 275/40R17.
The interior boasts a full black leather custom covering with silver stitching. The seat frames are aluminum buckets with custom padding and leather covers with the Cheetah Evolution logo. The dash is padded and leather covered with a steel dash insert for the gauges with a carbon fiber hydro-dip design. The gauges are Classic Instruments and feature the Cheetah Evolution logo. There is a 200 MPH speedometer, a 10,0000 RPM tachometer and fuel, temp, voltage and oil pressure. In the center console rests the AC controls, the wiper control with washer function and a oil temperature gauge reading from the stock GM dry sump oil reservoir. The ignition is a modern push button start. Other items of interest are the SFI spec seat harnesses, a luggage bag for the removable side windows, a courtesy light and storage pockets for both passengers. The doors feature CNC machined alloy gullwing door hinges and flush mount door handles that lock. The door latches are machined alloy pins that function on a pivot.
The interior rearview mirror has a back-up camera function for better visibility. There is a LH exterior mirror.
This particular Cheetah Evolution has a custom bump on the hood to clear the supercharger and it utilizes a stock GM window from the ZR1 Corvette. The hood pivots forward to reveal the engine and uses four alloy push button locks. The rear uses GM reproduction tail lights from a midyear Corvette. The license plate holds the back-up camara and there are license lights and two reverse lights. The headlights are LED full function units made by JW Speaker and feature DRL's.
This car is extremely fun to drive and turns heads wherever it goes. The power and handling of this vehicle is superb. Maintenace and serviceability is extremely easy and replace parts are readily available.
Because we are the manufacturers of this vehicle and are such a small volume company, all cars are inspected locally by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. They inspect for function and safety of the vehicle before it can be licensed for the street. They recognize our custom 17 digit VIN and our OEM plate is affixed to the firewall of each vehicle. The title is an Ohio State title. The Ohio title can be transferred to another state by the purchaser.