They say competition is the main driving force for progress, proving over time to be the most efficient way for pushing things forward. There are countless examples during history, with the most obvious one perhaps being the Cold War with its space race and everything.
Close to two years after the eighth generation of America's most legendary sports car, the Corvette, was introduced, there are two enterprises (there should be more, but these make the most noise so far) that look to get as much power out of the 6.2-liter V8 lurking behind the two seats. They might not be reaching for the stars, but if you were to ask Corvette fans, they might say what FuelTech and Emelia Hartford are doing is even more important than such nonsense as going to the moon and developing a reusable space shuttle.
So far, each has claimed a different "world record" for their build, with Hartford setting the quickest quarter-mile pass and FuelTech claiming the highest power output. Emelia managed to nail a 9.41 run with a trap speed of over 144 mph (231 km/h), a record FuelTech seems to have set their sights on, and with a power output of 1,075 whp, it only makes sense that they would.
The road to greatness is paved with hiccups, and the team definitely experienced one of those during their weekend outing at the Outlaw Street Car Reunion, held at Virginia Motorsports Park. An eight-mile test run early on yielded an unsatisfactory time and, on closer inspection, they realized there was something wrong with the car.
It turns out the intake lid had burst at one of the welds, letting precious boost out instead of shoving it into the engine. On-site repairs using JB Weld were successfully employed, but the C8 couldn't reach the full 21-psi boost it needs to reach that 1,075-whp output.
Instead, the car had to settle for 16 pounds per square inch of boost and an unknown amount of power (probably around 1,000 hp at the crankshaft). Even in these less-than-ideal conditions, FuelTech's Anderson Dick still managed to nail four consecutive nine-second runs while also setting a new trap speed record for the C8, beating Emelia Hartford's 144 mph by more than 2 miles per hour.
Expect the team to have another go as soon as the intake is sorted and the opportunity presents itself. Judging by how the car did with the technical difficulties it faced—it managed a best time of 9.727—we'd say the 9.41 record will probably not stand for long. Your move, Emelia.
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