It hasn’t even been six months since the first Corvettes hit Chevy dealerships across America, but tuners are already making big power out of the C7 generation Corvettes. Hennessey Performance Engineering [1] has been at the cutting edge of tuning the new 6.2 liter LT1 V8 engine, and while we’ve already seen what a supercharger can do with the LT1, Hennessey shows us that a pair of turbochargers can deliver even more power.
On just 7 PSI of boost and running 93 octane fuel straight out of a gas pump, the twin-turbo HPE700 Corvette laid down 608 horsepower at the wheels, which even by conservative estimates translates close to 700 ponies at the flywheel. Say what you will about Hennessey, but they always seem to make as much power as they claim.
The HPE700 kit [2] consists pair of ball-bearing turbochargers coupled with an air-to-air intercooler and a host of supporting upgrades such as an improved fuel system, stainless steel exhaust, and of course HPE’s tuning magic. All of that translates into a power band that right around 3,500 RPM absolutely soars to deliver all that horsepower, and about 564 pound-feet of torque as well.
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This is all on an otherwise stock LT1 engine, as GM did the wise thing of building these motors to easily accept boost. After all, GM intended to boost the LT1 from the beginning, and thanks to HPE you now have a choice of which form of forced induction you’d prefer. Us? While superchargers definitely have the muscle car vibe to them, give is a pair of turbochargers any day. There’s something much scarier about the spool of a turbo than the whine of a supercharger, but that’s just like, our opinion, man.