Photo: Hennessey
Everybody is waiting for the all-new C8 to head out to dealerships, either to push the mid-engined Corvette to the limits of grip or to crank up the performance all the way up to eleven. Hennessey is with the latter crowd, promising up to 1,200 horsepower from the 6.2-liter engine of the Stingray.
“From mild to wild” is how the Texas-based tuner describes the modifications program, and the highlight is a twin-turbo system strapped upon the LT2 V8 with forged aluminum pistons, connecting rods, and a 10.0:1 compression ratio. Together with the additional suck-squeeze-bang-blow, the list of upgrades also includes “a fortified factory dual-clutch transmission.”
General Motors co-developed the DCT with Tremec, and when the C8 was nothing more than an Australian ute, the test mule used to pack a Porsche-sourced PDK as a placeholder. The 8-speed M1L is also known as TR-9080 in the Tremec catalog, and the transaxle is compatible with either a fixed-biased LSD or an electro-hydraulic LSD with active selection of the locking ratio.
“Over the past several months we have had hundreds of inquiries from C8 buyers wanting to know what we will be offering for the new Corvette,” said John. “The customers are telling us what they want and big surprise – they want more power,” concluded the head honcho of Hennessey Performance Engineering.
A stainless-steel exhaust system upgrade will be offered before the twin-turbo V8 goes live, and along with it, HPE plans to roll out a supercharger. The blower upgrade is expected to bump the LT2 up to 700 horsepower, a rather conservative rating as opposed to the twin-turbocharged package.
Hennessey claims it had modified more than 500 seventh-generation ‘Vettes since the C7 entered the scene in 2013, and given the hype surrounding the C8, many more aftermarket projects are in the pipeline. The big question is, will HPE take up the challenge to modify the long-anticipated ZR1 too?
General Motors co-developed the DCT with Tremec, and when the C8 was nothing more than an Australian ute, the test mule used to pack a Porsche-sourced PDK as a placeholder. The 8-speed M1L is also known as TR-9080 in the Tremec catalog, and the transaxle is compatible with either a fixed-biased LSD or an electro-hydraulic LSD with active selection of the locking ratio.
“Over the past several months we have had hundreds of inquiries from C8 buyers wanting to know what we will be offering for the new Corvette,” said John. “The customers are telling us what they want and big surprise – they want more power,” concluded the head honcho of Hennessey Performance Engineering.
A stainless-steel exhaust system upgrade will be offered before the twin-turbo V8 goes live, and along with it, HPE plans to roll out a supercharger. The blower upgrade is expected to bump the LT2 up to 700 horsepower, a rather conservative rating as opposed to the twin-turbocharged package.
Hennessey claims it had modified more than 500 seventh-generation ‘Vettes since the C7 entered the scene in 2013, and given the hype surrounding the C8, many more aftermarket projects are in the pipeline. The big question is, will HPE take up the challenge to modify the long-anticipated ZR1 too?
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