Peterbilt 359 Semi Unleashes 3,000 HP, Puts On Mind-Blowing Show During Drag Race

Its only major rival at the time was the Kenworth W900A, as Ford, Freightliner and Mack Trucks wouldn’t join the party until later in the following decade. Yes, there were alternatives, but during those first few years, hardly anything could stand up to the 359 big picture wise.

Keep in mind, this truck could be ordered with an all-aluminum cab and bunk, plus an aluminum frame, which not only made it lightweight, but also durable.

Now, if your plan is to go racing in a straight line, you won’t find many better options than the Peterbilt 359. Of course, you’ll need to bump the power output way up and make sure the transmission can handle the stress – among several other necessary mods.

The one you’re about to see here (with the dual-tone green and gray aesthetic), is beyond spectacular. According to the uploader, it’s putting down 3,000 hp, which sounds incredible, but it’s conceivable.

These rigs are extremely powerful, needing several thousand horsepower in order to move the way they do. To be fair, it’s hard to tell how much pulling power they have during loaded races, but when unloaded, they take off like bats out of hell. Personally, I’d love to see this exact Peterbilt race the Tesla Semi over a quarter mile.

Until then, you can watch it dispatch rivals from Kenworth and Mack, as well as other Peterbilt models, although it didn’t win 100% of its races. Actually, it lost to that orange Kenworth W900 we saw kick some serious behind last month. The Peterbilt couldn’t come out on top during the loaded race, but it did beat the Kenworth when unloaded, which is interesting.