Hennessey HPE650 Supercharged C7 Corvette vs. 2015 Corvette Z06

On the horsepower front, it kind of does thanks to a 25 horsepower advantage at the crank. However, the Texan tuner did put the HPE650 through its paces on the dyno, showing a maximum rear-wheel output of 532 horses and 539 Nm of torque.

You also have to take into account that the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is reengineered by highly skilled in-house engineers and benefits from an all-new eight-speed automatic transmission that might provide more rear-wheel horsepower and torque than the tune job.

With an estimated price tag in the neighborhood of $80,000, the HPE500 will most probably slot way below the Z06, which might come with a near $100,000 sticker price as its crossing Corvette C6 ZR1 territory with its awe-inspiring specs. Warranty-wise, both cars are offered with a standard 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, so this battle ends up in a draw.

Apart from the supercharger upgrade and a few bits and pieces made out of carbon fiber, Hennessey's offering doesn't come as standard with aero tweaks, super sport tires, carbon ceramic brakes, performance suspension and all the other bells and whistles of the Z06. In the absence of a price list for these upgrades and the unknown MSRP of the C7 Z06, we presume that the aforementioned could easily bump the price of the HPE500 to $100k.

It seems that $100,000 or so will buy you similarly powerful high-performance Vettes, albeit differentiated by very distinctive personalities and underpinnings. Ultimately, it looks like it all boils down to a matter of preference.

What would you take between the Hennessey HPE650 Corvette C7 Stingray and 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06?