During World War Two, the best way the Royal Air Force could make 2,000 horsepower reliably was to employ the 37-liter, 2,240-cubic-inch Rolls-Royce Griffon. In the days when "no replacement for displacement" really was the law of the land, the best way to make an ICE vehicle more powerful was to just make it bigger. In 2023, 2,000 horses can be made by a group of Polish blokes on an English holiday.
Proof positive of this comes from the powered by VTG group out of Warsaw, Poland. Seeing an all-American '68 Chevy Camaro make 2000 hp with such quality craftsmanship so far away from home fills our hearts with joy, a land where cheap beer flows like a river and whatever you can shove into a Polski Fiat accounts for a portion of the local tuner scene, VTG's Camaro is in a class practically all its own. Where once there could have been a wimpy 230-cubic-inch (3.8 L) straight-six or a 327-cubic-inch classic small block V8 now resides something not OEM in the slightest.
It might not be the tried and true "real fine" 409-cubic-inch Chevy big block made famous by the Beach Boys, but this stroked Chevy small block does at least match the old big block dual-quad's 6.7 liters of displacement. With two massive 88 mm turbochargers and a performance-tuned top and bottom end built back in Warsaw, this supposedly small block motor jets 2008 hp and 2107 Nm (1554 lb-ft) to the tires. For some context, the first British aero engine to make that much power, the Napier Sabre, had over five times the cubic displacement of this; it also weighed almost as much as this entire car.
All this power is sent to a race-built GM TH400 three-speed automatic transmission; to top it all off, a front and rear differential borrowed from a GMC Typhoon makes for an AWD drag car with almost nothing left over internally from its previous life as a street rod. At the Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire, the UK's first dedicated drag racing venue, VTG proved exactly how power figures once reserved for the machines of war are now attainable by civilians in sheds. It's even more ironic because the site now occupied by Santa Pod was once a disused RAF air base during the Second World War. The car even sounds like an old Spitfire on startup.
With the spirits of hundreds of RAF airmen at their backs, VTG practically stole the show with a blistering 7.869-second quarter mile run at 187.45 mph. But after a few runs, that GMC front differential decided to call it quits. But hey, at least it wasn't the gorgeous engine that sent VTG packing that day. It's far too precious to turn into an unintentional hand grenade. Congrats to the VTG team on an incredible build, check out 1320 Video's YouTube profile below for more.
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