The most powerful GMC Sierra 1500 on sale today can’t do better than 420 horsepower from a small-block V8, and the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit doesn’t plan on supercharging that motor either. As such, the aftermarket is much obliged to go all out with tuning packages such as the HPE Goliath 700 Supercharged.
Hennessey Performance Engineering has recently upgraded a customer’s AT4 to this specification, and obviously enough, Mr. Kindsvater looks pretty happy with his purchase. It sounds pretty good too, but that’s what a cat-back exhaust system does to any small-block V8 out there. As for go-faster bragging rights, 4.3 seconds to 60 miles per hour (97 kph) is more than adequate for a vehicle this tall and this heavy.
HPE extracts approximately 700 horsepower at 6,300 rpm with the help of a 2.9-liter blower complemented by high-flow intercooling and an upgraded intake system. The CNC-ported cylinder heads, more aggressive camshaft, Chromoly hardened pushrods, crankcase ventilation, and ECU software calibration are worth mention as well.
Every Goliath 700 Supercharged is covered by three years of 36,000 miles of limited warranty, and every build is spruced up with embroidered headrests to bring the point home. Serialized plaques for the dashboard and engine are included in the price, which is $26,995 over the donor vehicle. You can bump that up by $14,950 if you want the Stage 1 Off-Road Package that adds a 6-inch lift kit among other goodies.
The optional upgrade is also differentiated by the HPE bumper with LED lighting, 20-inch wheels shod in 35-inch A/T rubber shoes from Toyo, and cool-looking exterior graphics. But wait, there’s more! If your pockets are deeper than that, Hennessey can also treat you to a ram-air hood, diamond-stitched interior, a retractable electronic bed cover, and fold-out steps. The cat-back exhaust mentioned earlier is optional as well, which means that you’re looking at a very expensive truck.
As a brief refresher, the Sierra 1500 AT4 Crew Cab Short Box with 4WD and the 6.2-liter powerplant is available from $57,790 excluding destination charge. The two packages from Hennessey total $41,945, so yeah, you’re looking at more than $100k for this truck.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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