[VIDEO] 1,000 HP Hennessey Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing vs C8 Corvette Z06

Ultimate two-car garage alert! Last week, Hennessey Performance Engineering jumped the 500-mile hurdle with its 2023 Corvette Z06. Now, the famed Texas tuning shop can really uncork a 5.5-liter bottle of flat-plane fun! As has become customary in Sealy, HPE’s little slice of the Gemini Project will eventually be twisted into a ‘roid-raging monster. But before that can happen, its stock form must be put through its paces as a baseline. Like a sweet old lady on a motorized cart, the Z can still serve a purpose during this “before” stage, and Hennessey knows how to exploit that fact better than any other tuner out there. The Hypersonic Gray Z07 and its brake-dust-covered carbon fiber wheels are about to clock in at their new position as a promotional vehicle and workout buddy/punching bag for fully-juiced HPE creations.

Job one includes delighting the aural centers of our nervous system with a pair of roll races against the burliest Cadillac sedan you’re likely to see. The CT5-V Blackwing was already suffering from excess chest hair in factory form with its C7 Z06-derived 668-horse LT4 V8, but Hennessey has given this Midnight Steel example the “Exorcist” treatment. That means 1,000 thundering ponies being routed to the rear rubber through… a six-speed manual transmission! With those specs in mind, it’s no wonder HPE opted for a 40-roll to spotlight its Earth’s rotation-altering Blackwing instead of taking on the quick-shifting launch king from a standstill (though we would be very, very interested in seeing this film – nudge, nudge, HPE!).

It really doesn’t get better than these two, and their (first of many?) shared video starts with specs, glorious revs that only deepen our LT4 vs. LT6 conundrum, and a hype track worthy of Hans Zimmer. Round one sees both cars round the comically narrow corner of Hennessey’s test track before gunning it from 40 mph at a designated cone in the straightaway. Through some fancy drone work, we can see that the Z06 driver wasn’t quite able to make the start flag in step with the 5VB, but it becomes rapidly apparent that it wouldn’t have mattered if it did. Propelled by four-digit horsepower, the Alpha Platform Cadillac is just gone! There’s a rematch where the Z gets the jump this time, and from the on-board cameras, we can see it gaining a little ground every time the Cadillac has to shift, but the end result is just about as convincing as the first time around. Then, just as quickly as it started, the video goes full-Costanza and leaves us wanting more! Enjoy, Corvette Nation; hopefully, there’s plenty more where this content gold was dug up!

Source:
Hennessey Performance

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[VIDEO] Hennessey Lets the C8 Corvette Z06 Off the Chain After Reaching 500 Miles
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