IF YOU haven’t heard of the V12 LS, it’s the work of Aussie brothers Matt and Shane Corish. The engine is based on two cut-and-shut 5.7-litre LS1s. Initially the boys just wanted to see if it could be done, and they received so much interest that the idea spawned a business.

Last we heard from the guys at V12LS.com they had their first custom-built 8.5-litre (519ci) LS1-based V12 engine in a show Camaro at SEMA last year, equipped with a set of trick individual throttlebodies. On stock LS1 rods and pistons, with a fairly sedate street cam, the engine made 717hp on Dandy Engines’s dyno and 624rwhp on a hub dyno over in the States.

Since then they’ve moved on to the next stages of the V12’s development. Matt and Shane are keen to squeeze 1000hp out of the engine aspirated, but to do that they might over-stress the factory aluminium LS1 block and internals, so they have now manufactured their own custom one-piece block here in Australia.

This design is set to be significantly stronger than their initial block, which used two LS1s cut down and welded together. The custom block still retains the LS1’s design and takes a factory-size rod and piston, but with it now one solid chunk of either aluminium or cast iron (depending on the customer), it’s going to be a lot stronger and more durable.

The guys are also working on adapting LS7 cylinder heads to fit the V12 engine, as they have been persisting with the basic GM 241 cathedral-port heads. With these heads and the slightly larger capacity of the custom block (9.5 litres vs 8.5 litres), plus custom forged rods and pistons, it’s going to make significantly more grunt than the original.

With boosted LS combos all the rage at the moment, you’ve got to ask: Will we see a turbo or blown version of the V12 LS one day?