This month is going to be glorious for enthusiasts of 'America's sports car' because Team Corvette is coming out on July 25 with the official presentation of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
It's going to be stunning, for sure – not necessarily because of the looks, which are hard to modify to the extent they become revolutionary, but due to the technical prowess. More precisely, with the new V8 from the Z06 and a rumored twin-turbo assembly, the C8 ZR1 is believed to be much more powerful than the C7 predecessor.
Speaking of the final generation with a front-engine layout, a lot of people believe that those Corvettes haven't said their last words – especially at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. However, they really should be more careful when they choose the brawls. Here, let us give you an eloquent example.
The videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube is a big fan of Canada's Mission Raceway Park, also known as MRP or 'Thunder by the River' - an auto racing facility located in Mission, British Columbia, Canada, which features an NHRA-sanctioned dragstrip, a nine-turn road course, as well as a motocross track. Here's why.
It's a scenic view – at the forefront are the competing cars, and in the background, there's a body of water to keep everyone cool and hydrated. Anyway, the cars are in focus, of course. On this occasion, the main protagonist was a 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, part of the 'Last Call' series produced ahead of the demise of the L-bodied Challenger and Charger and the pinnacle of the Hemi V8 series.
Indeed, this track-oriented monster is capable of flaunting up to 1,025 horsepower on E85, and on its best day at the track, it should be capable of flaunting an 8.91s elapsed time at the local dragstrip. Of course, not everyone uses the E85 mixture at all times, so don't be surprised when the Demon 170 doesn't rock nine-second passes.
On this occasion, this particular Demon 170 is also a bit of a show-off with its classic purple hue, silver Demon decals, and the 170 script in red written on the sides. The opposing Chevy Corvette Z06 sitting in the other lane was tamer – just a black C7 with silver front wheels and a black set at the rear. Well, as it turns out, the Demon 170 looks like a monster and can also send into oblivion just about any adversary.
The skirmish ended swiftly: 10.19s at 142 mph versus 12.86s at just 86 mph. The GM bandwagon then sent a fourth-generation Chevy Camaro to try and perform an exorcism, but it couldn't handle the Mopar power – and the same happened with the old-school pickup truck that got treated to the Demon 170's best pass of 10.01s at 144 mph. Cool, right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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