It can’t have been long after the Corvette was first seen in 1953 that tuning them began in earnest. Like almost every American sports car, there’s always been some untapped potential for curious owners to explore. That remains true for the current, mid-engined, C8 generation, too, or at least according to Hennessey. Because it’s made a 700hp one.
The H700 kit uses a supercharger for its big gains, a method employed to such great effect on small block Chevy V8s over the years. Where the standard 6.2-litre LT2 makes just under 500hp and 465lb ft, the Hennessey car cranks out 718hp and 638lb ft, a 44 per cent increase in power and 37 per cent boost in torque. Which is quite a lot. More even than the spectacular Z06, which screams its flat-plane cranked heart out to 680hp and 460lb ft. It’s probably not fair to compare forced induction with 8,500rpm atmospheric engines, but as an indicator of just how potent the H700 Corvette is there’s not much better.
The supercharger requires no more than an ECU tweak and an intercooler to reach those incredible numbers, indicative of the potential in the standard 6.2-litre engine. Hennessey is also offering an uprated exhaust as an option, but every H700 car will get a three year, 36,000-mile warranty. The dual-clutch gearbox is left untouched, as is the chassis, which does feel brave given the huge uplift in torque. There is a track testing video, showing off the speed and the sound and the donut ability, but there’s not much cornering - so don’t say you weren’t warned…
Hennessey claims this Corvette is arguably the best value high performance supercar in the world, and it’s pretty hard to contest that. A full H700 package - comprised of the supercharger, intercooler, ECU tune, exhaust, graphics and lightweight wheels - is $49,950. Those just after the power can have it for $35k (just over £29k). Even adding that number to the £100,000 or so of a UK, right-hand drive car from the classifieds - there’s international shipping available - gets a brand new, 700hp+, mid-engined supercar for less than £150k. Because not everyone wants a McLaren 720S, right? The H700 package is on sale now.
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