Chevrolet has built a bunch of impressive Camaros over the years, starting with the 1969 ZL-1. But the world's quickest Camaro is the work of Bailey Racing. It goes by the name "Sick Seconds" and runs the quarter-mile in just five seconds.
Well of course I'm not talking about a plain looking Camaro. Tom Bailey's slingshot is a full-fledged dragster fitted with all the bells and whistles that come with such vehicles. And as ludicrous as it may sound, it's actually road-legal. Sort of.
This car has been entered in Hot Rod's Drag Week, which includes a 1,000+ mile road trip. In order to compete, the car has to have a valid registration, insurance, and some form of street legality. But you can't really drive it outside that organized road trip.
Under that bulged hood lurks a twin-turbo, 8.6-liter V8 that cranks out a massive 4,000 horsepower. No wonder it's able to run the quarter-mile in 5.97 seconds. That's quicker than most cars need to hit 60 mph (97 kph). The Camaro's trap speed for the run was an amazing 230.6 mph (371.1 kph). That more than most supercars available today.
The video is quite long, so if you want to check out the 5.97-second run make sure you go to the 16:44-minute mark. There's cool in-car footage, including a driver's POV camera with a digital speedometer that's shows just how insanely quick this dragster goes from 0 to 200 mph.
But my advice is that you take your time to watch the entire video. Tom details how the Camaro is being prepared for these extreme quarter-mile runs. He also gives us a look at the telemetry data and how the car is being tuned from one run to another in order to improve its time.
As it turns out, 5.97 isn't the best this Camaro can do. A previous run was clocked in at 5.77 seconds, paired with a trap speed of 259.6 mph (417.7 kph). Will "Sick Seconds" drop below 5.5 seconds in the future? Tom might have a few aces up his sleeve, so we'll just have to wait and find out. Maybe he'll even manage to break the 300 mph (482.8 kph) barrier, which would be a tremendous achievement.
Meanwhile, hit the play button below to see the insane and strangely beautiful "Sick Seconds" Camaro do its thing. Just be careful not to blink, you might just miss that five-second run.
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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