Do you know how there's always a reason why America is the greatest country on Earth in political speeches? Well, sometimes, coming in second isn't all that bad, as it gives you a reason to try harder and better yourself. That's the case with the C8 Corvette in this interesting drag race, featuring rivals from Japan and Germany.
We're not going to treat this as some kind of fantasy war of the nations because these cars aren't direct competitors. We know Corvette engineers have benchmarked the Nissan GT-R to some degree, but that's for the more hardcore versions. The normal C8 is way cheaper than any version of the Godzilla.
The drag races Canadian channel Throttle House has done with the new Corvette have all shown the advantages provided by this new platform. By placing the V8 engine right over the powered wheels, it improves the traction you get from a dig. After it thrashed the Shelby GT500, America's most potent pony, they decided to check how it stacks up against AWD monsters from distant lands.
The German contender should have been an Audi R8. Alas, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S will have to suffice. With its 630 horsepower 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, we've seen it do quite well in previous drag races, and it's pretty safe to say it's the best in its class. While adding turbos gives this way more torque than the Corvette, it's also a 4-door with about 1,000 lbs of extra weight.
Japan's contender has aged decently over the past decade and is still a decent sprinter. This version is rated at 565 horsepower, so the GT-R is making 70 hp more than the Corvette. This number appears to be the key to the whole race because, after even launches, the Nissan begins to pull ahead of the other two.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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