Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Surprises in Chevrolet Corvette C8 Drag Race

Asking for higher output C8s makes it sound as though the base Stingray isn't up for scratch, but that couldn't be further from reality. The 495 horsepower the American sports car makes is nothing to laugh at, and the figure alone only tells half the story. The real party trick of the eight-gen Corvette is what it can do with all that power.

People also sense this new mid-engine platform GM designed for the C8 can handle a lot more grunt, and they are understandably eager to see what it could do with it. The Corvette's drag racing performance is already quite impressive, particularly for a rear-wheel-drive car, and its balanced weight distribution makes it a hoot around a circuit as well, so imagine how great the Z06 or the ZR1 are going to be.

Well, right now, even buying a standard Stingray can be a challenge since the C8 is either hard to find or, because of the low supply and high demand, has insane dealership markups. But why is the demand so high? Well, if everything we've said about it so far isn't enough, then add the fact it also has a relatively low MSRP - at least for the kind of performance it offers.

The fact it sells for so little - again, in theory - means it will find itself competing against unlikely rivals. Things will differ from market to market, but in Canada, where the clip below is filmed, the C8 is only 2,000 CAD more expensive than the Toyota GR Supra 3.0, the German-Japanese sports car that, all things considered, sits at least one class below in terms of performance.

About that... does it really? Sure, its 3.0-liter straight-six turbocharged engine is only good for 382 hp to the C8's 495 hp of naturally-aspirated goodness it gets from that glorious 6.2-liter V8, but will make that much of a difference in a head-to-head drag race?

You what they say, there's only one way to find out. Sure enough, the C8's excellent launch control does its thing again and puts the Corvette in the lead early on. The Supra never looks like getting in front, but after falling behind about a car's length or so, it manages to maintain a steady distance until the end of the race, which is no mean feat against the might of a V8 engine. That shows grip and traction, and maybe also gearing, might actually be the main reasons why the Corvette took the W, and not necessarily the engine. But a win is a win, so if you want the quicker car, you know what to choose.