[VIDEO] 2024 Corvette E-Ray vs McLaren 750S in One of the Fastest U-Drags in History

It still feels kind of strange as a Corvette fan. We’re about to watch a grudge match between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, and our rooting interest is firmly in the latter category despite 70+ years of conditioning to the contrary. Crossed Flags faithful should be extremely grateful for the extra traction, though, because the Brit in the other lane is an absolute brute!

The stunning Carbon Flash over Adrenaline Red Dipped 655 HP AWD hybrid ‘Vette is squaring up with none other than McLaren’s latest, an update on the otherworldly 720S that has been tormenting all comers since the days of the C7 ZR1. While it is tough to visually differentiate this newly released 750S from its predecessor, under the skin, it’s a different story with around 30% new parts. As Car and Driver impeccably put it, in the 750, the 720 has been doing five-minute abs workouts all winter and is now spring break ready. The twin-turbo 4.0L V8 remains – no Ferrari-style cylinder loss, here! – but now, it produces an additional 30 ponies, giving it an official rating of 740, but it’s important to remember that there’s never been a modern McLaren that wasn’t hiding significantly more power under its “bonnet” than advertised. The new Mac is also promoted as making a healthy 590 lb-ft of torque, but the headliner is the car’s curb weight. The 750S tips the scales at just a skosh over 3,000 pounds, down some 65 lbs. from the already featherweight 720S. In testing, the newest member of McLaren’s Super Series leveraged its upgrades to the tune of a 2.5-second sprint to 60 on the way to a face-distorting sub-10 quarter – not bad for a $330,000 ride!

Entering the ring carrying 27% more weight and a near-100-horse power deficit, the 1/3-priced E-Ray obviously has its work cut out for it in the latest episode of Edmunds fan-favorite “U-Drags” down-and-back race, but there is at least a faint glimmer of hope for Chevrolet’s most unique performance car. The launch is where it needs to shine – AWD and instant e-torque will be absolutely vital in the ‘Ray’s quest to, at minimum, not get embarrassed, and as this isn’t just a point-and-shoot drag race, but instead a there-and-back that includes braking, handling, and roll racing on top of 0-60 and a 1,320-foot run from a stop, there’s a much higher chance of driver error in the McLaren because people – even most of the ones that test cars for a living – just aren’t used to the G-forces at play when a Woking rocket is on full boil.

We won’t play spoiler, but we will throw out a few assorted thoughts and suggestions for future U-Drags because we love these things! First of all, no matter what happens at the end, the Small Block portion of the ‘Vette’s “propulsion system” blows the McLaren’s bent-eight away on sound. Next, this matchup was great and all, but we’d be most interested in seeing a Z06/E-Ray clash in this arena – similar power, similar price, even the same badge and body, but completely different ways of executing the mission of going fast; it’s quite possibly the most compelling Corvette on Corvette matchup in history. Finally, as we say every time we cover something like this, the performance of the two ‘Vettes we’ve been talking about here is impressive in a straight line, but it isn’t necessarily what either one was built for; when the 5.5 gets its own pair of snails in the ZR1 later this year, the supercar establishment had better watch out!

Source:
Edmunds

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