Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
From the December 2021 issue of Car and Driver.
Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) ratings are an engineering classification of potential risk, with A being relatively innocuous and D the most hazardous. The plate on Alex MacDonald’s homebuilt Stalker reads “ASIL Z.” It also has a bike rack. “If it doesn’t haul a bike, it’s not a car,” MacDonald quips.
MacDonald is General Motors’ Corvette and Camaro vehicle-performance manager, which means, among other jobs, he’s in charge of making sure the Corvette chassis sings to you. It’s an engineering challenge he relishes, but it comes with rules. His weekends, however, are a little more freewheeling, and the Stalker is the result of hundreds of hours of fabrication and unbridled creativity.
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
Starting with a frame designed to accept the running gear of a second-gen Mazda Miata, MacDonald massaged into place a BMW N52 3.0-liter inline-six from a 1-series. The transmission is a Quaife sequential manual he purchased while attending the Goodwood Festival of Speed. He estimates that the car’s final weight is under 1500 pounds.
The question he’s asked most is why he didn’t build his project around a Chevrolet LS V-8.
“Why have a small-block V-8 if you’re not going to make at least 600 horsepower?” MacDonald says. “That much power would ruin a car like this.” Also: “It’s a dream job, but I am always sitting behind or in front of an LS V-8, or LT now.”
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
MacDonald would spend his workdays fine-tuning the C8, then tinker in his garage every chance he got. He began the project in August 2016, but the Stalker’s inspiration dates to MacDonald’s college days working on Formula SAE racing cars. He once got to drive one in an annual Michigan Tech parade. It was just three miles in light traffic, but MacDonald’s goal ever since has been to bring that experience to the street.
MacDonald’s dream became a reality in May, and he has already put more than 1300 miles on the car. When we spoke with him, Michigan’s winter was coming and with it a chance to tidy up a few further details. He needs to tune a spark map on the dyno, and there are some bushings he may or may not replace.
Come spring, MacDonald will be back on his mountain bike three days a week, and the Stalker will be at the trailhead.
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
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