Twin-Turbo Corvette C8 Obliterates Quarter-Mile Record

The C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is a lesson in making the most of what you’ve got. Until even wilder versions of the C8 arrive, the standard model’s 6.2-liter V8 with up to 495 horsepower has proved to be a phenomenally quick sports car, having previously completed the quarter-mile in under 11 seconds. You can thank its mid-engine layout for these great numbers, providing the ‘Vette with added traction.

But what happens when you strap two turbos to the Corvette’s V8 along with some other mods like sticky Mickey Thompson tires? Well, a lot. The guys from the EmileHartford YouTube channel aimed to break the existing 9.95-second quarter-mile record for a Corvette C8 at the Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, California.

If you don’t want to waste too much time watching the build-up, scroll ahead to the 10-minute mark in the video above which is when the big moment happens. With special Forgeline drag racing wheels and a near-empty gas tank, things were looking promising for ‘Phoenix’, as this C8 is known, but initially, the team was still registering times in the mid- to low-10s.

It took a couple of runs and switching to methanol racing fuel before this 1,000-horsepower Corvette finally broke the record, clearing the quarter-mile in a blistering 9.9 seconds. That didn’t stop Emelia Hartford from wanting more, and a best run of 9.41 seconds at 144.84 mph was eventually tallied, easily obliterating the previous record.

This is now the world’s fastest Corvette C8. Yes, it took several upgrades for the coupe to get there, but what an achievement. To put that time into perspective, the McLaren 765LT – a far more expensive exotic than the Corvette and a machine that takes weight-saving to the extreme – recently set a new quarter-mile record for a production car on stock tires at 9.372 seconds at 151.83 mph.

With a few more tweaks, Phoenix could potentially beat that time in the weeks and months to come. It serves as proof of how fundamentally accomplished the basic C8 is and what Chevy has achieved with this car.