There’s no question that the C8 Chevrolet Corvette is a fast performance car. It also turns out to be quite the capable drag racing vehicle too. Now, one aftermarket company has set an all-new record at the strip by going 8.644 seconds at 170.71 mph (276 km/h). Here’s how they managed it.
This is the same Corvette that was the first of the C8 generation to make 1,000 horsepower (745 kW) and the first to break into the 9-second category. It’s built by the folks over at Extreme Turbo Systems (ETS) and to put it lightly, it’s nowhere close to stock. This 2020 model features a pair of turbochargers, nitrous, Mahle Motorsport pistons, Carillo connecting rods, ARP head, and main studs, and a secondary fuel system with C85 in the tank.
A MoTeC ECU runs the whole thing and basically makes it capable of the performance it demonstrates at the strip. For example, the ECU allows ETS to launch at 2,800 RPM with anti-lag and between five and six pounds of boost. The factory launch control goes from 3,500 RPM only. In addition, the ECU provides ETS the ability to ramp up boost strategically as they go down the track.
Speaking to Motortrend, Zack Morgan, race team manager for ETS, said: “We run 17 psi in first, then right when it shifts into second, it goes to 26, and third adds just a little bit more. On the fifth-gear shift, we have to reduce the power slightly to not completely push through the clutch.” Despite all of that advanced technology, Morgan credits part of the gearbox as the real key.
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He calls a pressure box in the transmission the “most impressive part of the car” as it adds line pressure by 10-15%. That enables the car to put power down to those rear wheels. Interestingly it appears that further tuning freedom that could happen in the future might make this car even faster.
As it sits, the team doesn’t have access to the software in the transmission control module so they have to make all of their power below 6,500 rpm. As is evidenced by the run below, it’s clear that whatever ETS is doing, it’s working quite well.