Chevy Silverado on Turbo L33 Swap Drags ATS-V and Focus RS, It's Not Even Close

Sometimes, these modifications are enough to help their truck builds deliver severe beatings at the track. For example, this 2003 Chevrolet Silverado wearing crimson attire was probably chosen specifically to highlight some of the tasteful upgrades. These modifications, especially the blacked-out details, deliver a subtle performance tale. It’s a fine-spun story that clearly shows you don’t need huge changes to become a worthy quarter-mile “knight in shiny armor.”

According to the description provided by the Drag Racing and Car Stuff YouTube channel, the GM truck was captured on footage (embedded below) during the Street Car Takeover event held in Martin, Michigan (June 18-19). It arrived there sporting an L33 Vortec 5300 H.O. swap, so to an untrained eye, the engine from a 2005 Silverado isn’t bound to make a significant difference. In its usual configuration of 310 hp, the Gen 3 small block probably wouldn’t stand a chance against many sports cars.

But the L33 isn’t alone in the engine bay, as it’s joined by a 76-millimeter Borg Warner turbo to deliver an unspecified amount of power. While the exact rating might remain a mystery, it was probably enough to show the Silverado truck can withstand the assault of both a V6-powered Cadillac ATS-V (464 hp) and a 2.3-liter turbocharged Ford Focus RS (350 hp, AWD).

Interestingly, judging solely by the ETs, one wouldn’t say the Caddy made a fool of itself (losing with an 11.69s result to Chevy’s 11.29s), but it’s still very impressive to see the Silverado recoup almost the entire gap delivered by an extremely late start. Meanwhile, the Focus RS skirmish (starting at the 1:47 mark) will have many Blue Oval aficionados look away, as the difference was simply humongous: 10.79 seconds for the Chevy and only 14.58s for the Ford.