The C8 Corvette is America's surprise drag racer. It only makes 495 horsepower, yet it's capable to keep up or outrun potent muscle cars like the GT500 or Hellcat/Demon. But playing with electric cars is an entirely different challenge, as the Chevy doesn't have what it takes to be in the big leagues with the top-end Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S; at least not when stock.
Enter the world's fastest C8 Corvette and one of the few out there with a radical twin-turbo setup. About a week after doing the quarter-mile in 9.41 seconds at 144 mph (231 km/h), Emelia Hartford's C8 Corvette Stingray was at Hoonigan's drag racing location for a shootout with something expensive but completely stock.
It's the Taycan Turbo (without the S), the full-electric supercar from Porsche that pretends to be a regular four-door. It "only" puts down 670 horsepower from its motors, and we think they didn't use the Turbo S to make the race a little more interesting. Because of the batteries, this German car is a couple of motorcycles heavier, but we know it's blisteringly fast regardless.
By contrast, this is the least stock C8 Corvette out there. A pair of Precision 62/66 ball-bearing turbos sit where the rear bumper used to be. Of course, the stock ECU still doesn't allow tuning, so there's a piggyback Peitz Performance control unit that talks to the engine and a Holley Dominator Electronic Fuel Injection kit (port injection) feeding ethanol to the LT2 6.2-liter. While the video claims this setup makes 750 horsepower, we have seen it produce Bugatti Veyron levels of power.
The first race is done over 1,000 feet. As most people would predict, the Taycan got the jump on the Corvette initially, but Emelia's car quickly began to close the gap and lost by a nose. After that, competitiveness really comes out of both drivers, and the "burns" are real.
It's the Taycan Turbo (without the S), the full-electric supercar from Porsche that pretends to be a regular four-door. It "only" puts down 670 horsepower from its motors, and we think they didn't use the Turbo S to make the race a little more interesting. Because of the batteries, this German car is a couple of motorcycles heavier, but we know it's blisteringly fast regardless.
By contrast, this is the least stock C8 Corvette out there. A pair of Precision 62/66 ball-bearing turbos sit where the rear bumper used to be. Of course, the stock ECU still doesn't allow tuning, so there's a piggyback Peitz Performance control unit that talks to the engine and a Holley Dominator Electronic Fuel Injection kit (port injection) feeding ethanol to the LT2 6.2-liter. While the video claims this setup makes 750 horsepower, we have seen it produce Bugatti Veyron levels of power.
The first race is done over 1,000 feet. As most people would predict, the Taycan got the jump on the Corvette initially, but Emelia's car quickly began to close the gap and lost by a nose. After that, competitiveness really comes out of both drivers, and the "burns" are real.