After John Hennessey took delivery of a Stingray Z51 from the Corvette factory in Kentucky, he then drove the mid-engine sports car to Texas on a 1,400-mile trip. Chevrolet recommends to keep it steady in the first 500 and 1,500 miles of the vehicle, after which the LT2 can be enjoyed in all of its splendor.
Having arrived at Hennessey Performance Engineering, the founder and head honcho then proceeded to find out how much suck-squeeze-bang-blow the small-block V8 develops at the rear wheels. The crankshaft ratings for the Z51 Performance Package are 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque, and on the dyno, this model is good for 466 horsepower and 451 pound-feet.
Carlyle Racing previously dyno’d a Stingray without the Z51 Performance Package, showing only 24 miles on the odometer, at 440 horsepower and 408 pound-feet at the rear wheels. Both results are impressive in their own rights, but Hennessey’s is a little more exciting after you start crunching the number for real.
“Impressive” may not be the right word; a 5.86-percent drivetrain loss for horsepower and 4.05 percent for torque is – dare I say it – unbelievable. Comparing these figures with those of Carlyle Racing pretty much confirms that General Motors has stepped up its game in terms of drivetrain technology, putting every bit of know-how into making the C8 Corvette a performance bargain.
It’s also possible that the LT2 develops more ponies and twerks compared to the automaker’s crankshaft ratings, a practice that goes a long way back if you know your American automobile history well. General Motors portrayed itself rather conservatively in the 1960s, claiming that the Corvette L88 made 430 horsepower instead of 560 or maybe more. The big-block L88 engine was available for a short time, equipping only 216 examples of the C3 Corvette.
On an ending note, it’s worth remembering that dyno figures aren’t always exact. Far from it as a matter of fact. But the estimates from Hennessey Performance Engineering certainly got us pumped for what the future holds for the C8 in the aftermarket world. To the point, the Texas-based tuner is prepping a 1,200-horsepower upgrade with a twin-turbo arrangement.
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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