Performance

Watch: Hennessey Performance drag races a Chevrolet Corvette Z51 vs a Dodge Charger Hellcat

Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
May 14, 2020, 3:11 pm

Hennessey Performance is testing one of the most high-performance sports car engines up against the new V8 in the Corvette.

Photo courtesy of FCA US LLC

The Dodge Hellcat engine is one of the most desirable among sports car power plants. It gurgles, rumble, roars, and achieves the maximum potential of its 707 horsepower in a jiffy. But, can it outmatch the newest generation of the Chevrolet Corvette?

Hennessey Performance recently matched the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Z51 up against the 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody.

The 2020 Corvette Z51 as tested gets 495 horsepower from its 6.2-liter V8 engine. With the Z71 specialty package, the car has standard manual transmission with active rev matching, a dry sump oil system, electronic limited slip differential, performance exhaust, Brembo performance brakes, and Z51 performance suspension. An eight-speed paddle shift automatic transmission is available. Chevy prices that version of the rear-wheel drive coupe starting at $61,995.

In the video, it appears that Hennessey has opted for the automatic transmission in its tester.

The 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody has the 707-horsepower Hellcat engine that produces 650 pound-feet of torque. Dodge brags that the new Widebody sedan is 2.1 seconds faster than the 2019 Charger SRT on a 2.1-mile road course and that it can get from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

For the challenge, both models were bone stock.

The video is broken down into two parts. The first features the two going head to head from a dig. The Corvette pulls out to an early lead and the Charger never really stands a chance, fading into the distance.

The second part features the two cars starting from a 40 mph roll. Here, the race is more evenly matched with the Charger just barely pulling off the win at the end.

495 HP C8 Corvette vs 707 HP Hellcat Charger Widebody | Roll and Drag Race Comparisonwww.youtube.com

Hennessey has also recently revealed three modded trucks for sale, the 1,000-horsepower Jeep Gladiator-based Hennessey Maximus 1000, the Ford F-150-based supercharged Hennessey Venom 775, and the GMC Sierra 1500 Denali-based Hennessey Goliath700.

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Advanced driver aids

IIHS may increase test speeds for crash prevention systems

The IIHS may increase the speeds it uses to test advanced driver aids.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently announced that it is considering changing the speeds it uses to test vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention systems. The agency currently tests the systems at 12 and 25 mph, but says that the speeds don't accurately represent the types of crashes the safety tech is meant to prevent.

Front crash preventionwww.youtube.com

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is designed to notify of a possible collision and help respond with automatic application of braking. Just like a human using the brake pedal, it can stop the car, but higher speeds make it difficult to stop in time. The new tests would be conducted at 35 to 45 mph, which is the range where a large number of rear-end crashes occur. As Automotive News noted, an IIHS study showed 43 percent of rear-end crashes occur at speeds of 45 mph or less, so it's important to have a test that shows how well the tech performs at those levels.

A whopping 85 percent of 2022 vehicles earned a "Superior" rating in the current testing regime, so the IIHS will remove it from 2023 testing and Top Safety Pick award evaluations. Their view is that, since the majority of vehicles meet the criteria, it's no longer an accurate way of evaluating performance. In its place, the agency introduced a night test for automatic emergency braking systems that will begin next year.

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Charity car auction

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 raises big money for charity

The Z06 isn't on sale yet, but it's already raising money for charities.

Chevrolet

Just a couple years ago, the Chevrolet Corvette got a major overhaul that completely changed its design, personality, and performance. The car moved to a mid-engine layout for the first time, and its V8 produces thundering performance at a reasonable price. As it has always done with the Corvette, Chevy's laying out special editions for the car, and one of the first in the new generation will be the 2023 Corvette Z06. An early Z06 sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction this weekend to raise money for charity, and the final dollar amount crested the $1 million mark.

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06The car raised $1 million at the Palm Beach Auction. Chevrolet

The car crossed the block at the Palm Beach Auction, which took place on April 9. It's the first production model of the car, which builds on the mid-engine eighth-generation Corvette. It's powered by a 670-horsepower 5.5-liter flat plane-crank V8, which sends its power to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The engine revs much higher than a standard V8 and features a distinct sound. Chevy says the Z06's engine offers the most horsepower of any naturally aspirated V8 on sale.

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06Rick Hendrick was the winning bidder for the car. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

The car's $1 million price tag raised money for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The organization supports training of educators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI). This auction, together with the first retail version of the car auctioned earlier this year, brings the Corvette's total charity haul to $4.6 million in 2022.

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