Corvette's new mid-engined C8 Stingray is already a hell of a package: supercar looks and performance on a sports car budget. But to some folks, an affordable starting point just means there's more left in the kitty for vastly excessive performance upgrades, and if you wanna go big, you've gotta head to Texas.
Hennessey Performance, best known for its vicious Venom hypercar series, is one of America's greatest tuning shops, turning out big horsepower upgrades in bulk, and the company has just announced its plans for the C8 Corvette Stingray, after putting out an online survey for C8 owners to fill out. "The customers are telling us what they want," says founder John Hennessey, "and big surprise – they want more power!"
Where the stock car will make a very healthy 495 hp, Hennessey plans to offer several opportunities to bump the thing skyward. At the lowest end, you'll be able to get a very modest gain by turfing out the standard exhaust for a stainless steel Hennessey design that'll also make the car sound fruitier.
The next level will introduce forced induction, with a supercharger upgrade that should make the C8 good for around 700 hp. This will become available as soon as there's a computer tuning tool on the market that can talk to the C8.
But for seriously sick puppies, Hennessey will offer a specially built LT2 V8 with forged pistons and rods, upgraded internals, and a pair of massive snails. This twin-turbo beast will make a hideous 1,200 hp, necessitating an "upgraded and fortified" dual-clutch transmission. It'll be interesting to see which part of the car breaks next when that kind of power is put through it.
There will also be a selection of fancy-Nancy CarbonAero bodywork to choose from, including splitters, air dams and carbon rear wings, as well as chassis packages that include Penske suspension, wheel and tire options, and a full Brembo braking setup. Steer clear of that last one, folks, brakes make you go slow.
Source: Hennessey Performance