The days when drag strips were exclusively populated by muscle cars are long gone. Now that high-performance SUVs are a thing, more and more haulers are hitting the track in search of glory. But while you'd expect to see a Hellcat-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk show up and smoke full-fledged muscle cars, you'd never be ready for a Chevrolet Trailblazer.
Rated at almost 400 horsepower, the first-gen Trailblazer fitted with the 6.0-liter V8 is no slouch. But it's not all that powerful for the drag strip either. Needless to say, running the quarter-mile in less than nine seconds in an old SUV requires a long list of upgrades. And that's exactly what Matt Cole of Clarksville, Tennessee did to a 2006 model he got off a used car lot.
Of course, the standard engine was taken out of the SUV to make way for a race-spec mill. That's a 388-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) LS built by Mike Lough Racing and connected to a Rossler TH400 gearbox. The extra oomph needed to cover the quarter-mile in less than nine seconds comes via a massive, 88mm GT55 turbo that generates a whopping 30 pounds of boost.
So exactly how powerful is this thing now? Well, the owner says the turbo V8 is making about 1,500 horsepower, which is almost twice as much compared to a factory-built and road-legal dragster like the Dodge Challenger Demon.
But this Trailblazer isn't just about a massively powerful mill. Cole also made sure that the SUV is notably lighter than stock by replacing the front end and the doors with carbon-fiber elements. Yes, it's still heavier than the usual muscle car at just under 3,600 pounds (1,633 kg), but you need to keep in mind that a first-gen Trailblazer comes in at around 4,400 pounds (1,996 kg).
The power-to-weight ratio of the SUV enabled Cole to run his quickest quarter-mile in just 8.20 seconds. That's notably quicker than the twin-turbo Trailblazer we saw back in May. And according to Renegade Racing, it's a world record for the nameplate. The SUV's trap speed is also pretty impressive at 171 mph (275 kph).
Check it out running a bunch of impressive quarter-mile sprints in the video below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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