Watch a Tuned C8 Corvette Stingray Drag Race New and Old-School Muscle Cars at Zandvoort

Goodies include a set of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic side skirts made in Krefeld by SlyStyle Performance, a humongous rear wing that looks more at home on the soon-to-be-revealed ZR1 rather than the Z07-equipped Z06, a set of Schmidt TwentyOne forged wheels, and €6,449 worth of exhaust from the folks at Grail Automotive. Chances are this Corvette further boasts a level of stage tuning, with SlyStyle offering four options.

Stage 1 upgrades the 6.2-liter engine by no more than 12 ps and 15 Nm of torque, which makes a world of difference in the Stingray for the European market. As opposed to the US version, the European spec is hampered by gasoline particulate filters, resulting in less power and torque. How big of a difference are we talking about? 482 ps and 613 Nm is 475 horsepower and 452 pound-feet versus 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet in the US of A.

Stepping up to Stage 4 means up to 30 ps and 30 Nm over the advertised figures. Pictured at Zandvoort, which is Max Verstappen's home circuit, the SlyStyle Stingray is much obliged to show its mettle on the main straight against new and older muscle cars, including a sixth-generation Camaro ZL1 and a 1969 Pontiac Firebird 400.

The list of challengers also includes a… uhm… wide-bodied Challenger with the hood from an R/T rather than a Scat Pack or a Hellcat and a fine example of the 1970 Pontiac GTO. Although the Challenger and Camaro stand no chance against the mid-engine sports car, one of the old-school muscle cars makes easy work of the Corvette thanks to forced induction and fat drag radials.

While it's thoroughly exciting to see a varied selection of American vehicles racing from a dig, seeing them race at Zandvoort makes it very special indeed. Rather than very special, formidable is the word that best describes the sticker price of the C8 in this part of the world. In the latter half of 2021 for the 2022 model year, the 2LT with the Z51 performance package used to retail at €99,000 in Germany and £81,700 in the United Kingdom.

That's a helluva lot more than a 2LT Z51 in the United States, and don't even ask about how much Chevrolet Europe wants for the 8,600-rpm Z06. The Corvette is the only line sold by Chevrolet Europe as of May 2024, which is a bit disappointing when you remember that General Motors previously owned the Saab, Opel, and Vauxhall brands.

In addition to the Corvette, the Detroit-based automaker is also represented in the Old Continent by Cadillac. The Lyriq is the Caddy to have in Europe, with the zero-emission crossover starting at 84,200 francs in Switzerland or close to 93,050 freedom eagles at current exchange rates.

Considering that a Macan EV is similar money to the Lyriq, the Cadillac brand will struggle to find customers for the BEV3-based crossover. While the C8 may be more affordable than a 911, nobody would cross-shop Corvette against Neunelfer.