Need more grunt? Bolt on a blower! That’s been true for 100 years and remains true even in today’s fast-changing performance car market. In the US they take the view that given a whopping V8 engine and a car called Corvette Stingray, it would be rude not to fit a supercharger. So they have.
It’s not Chevrolet that’s done the deed though. Chevy already has its go-faster ‘Vette, the ZO6, and with Car & Driver recently recording 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds it’s already plenty fast.
No, the new moniker on Corvette owners’ wish-lists is H700. The H is for renowned Texas tuning outfit Hennessey and the 700 is for…you guessed, the power output. With a big blower attached, the Corvette’s 6.2-litre V8 in fact churns out 718PS (528kW). Torque is equally awesome at 865Nm (638lb ft).
That’s an increase in power on the stock Corvette of 44 per cent, with torque up 37 per cent. Enough extra to notice in other words. The new outputs outdo Chevy’s own hardcore ZO6 whose 5.5-litre V8 – claimed to be the world’s most powerful naturally-aspirated production V8 – puts out 670PS (500kW) and 624Nm (460lb ft).
“The stock C8 Corvette Stingray is an extraordinary sportscar, yet Chevrolet left some V8 performance on the table,” John Hennessey tells us.
He should know; the company that bears his name has been making cars go faster for 30 years as well as more recently making its own Venom hypercar.
The H700 conversion for the mid-engined C8 ‘Vette centres on a high-flow centrifugal supercharger. The package comprises an air induction system with an air-to-water intercooler, an enhanced exhaust, lightweight wheels and special Hennessey livery.
As an aftermarket fit, available in the UK as well as the States, it’s 50,000 bucks worth. Price for a power upgrade alone is $34,950, so about £29,250. Hennessey says it all fits any C8 Corvette coupe made between 2020-22 and comes with a three-year/36,000-mile warranty.
Given the 2023 ZO6 starts in six-figure price territory – C&D have given it a 10/10 rating though – the Hennessey route to injecting more sting into your Stingray is likely to be the cheaper one. Hennessey says: “The H700 is arguably the best value high-performance supercar in the world.”
Perhaps, but will a supercharged version of the LT2 pushrod 6.2 V8 ever sound as good as the Ferrari-rivalling howl of the DOHC flat-plane crank 5.5 V8 that Chevy fits to its new ZO6? Somehow, we doubt it.
Report by Bob Murray
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