This doesn’t seem like a fair fight.
Weight matters when it comes to racing. A lighter car equals a more efficient car. The less weight your car carries around, the more you can use the power to propel forward with gusto. The advantage of less weight is evident in this race between a Hennessey modified Dodge Charger Hellcat and a stock Chevy Corvette Z06.
Hennessey cranks the power on the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from an already insane 707 horsepower to 1,000 hp. That’s quite a jump. The Corvette Z06, on the other hand is bone stock, according to the video description. That means its producing 650 hp and 650 pound-feet of torque from its supercharged 6.2-liter V8. That’s quite a disparity in power.
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However, the Corvette has one simple advantage – it’s significantly lighter. According to the video’s description, the modified Hellcat weighs in at 4,575 pounds, which makes sense considering its a four-door sedan. The Z06 weighs nearly 1,000 pounds less than the Charger, weighing in at 3,583 pounds.
Hennessey pits the two in a rolling-start drag race. However, we don’t know how fast they're going when they cross the starting line. The Charger gets a clear lead crossing across the line, quickly pulling away. There’s a moment when the Z06 matches the pace of the Charger, halting its gain; however, as speed increases, the Charger slowly begins to pull away, putting several car lengths between itself and the Corvette.
Not even the Corvette’s massive weight advantage could help it keep up with the Charger. While making a car light certainly helps make it faster, there’s little replacement for raw horsepower. And with the Charger pumping out 1,000 hp, the 650-hp Corvette didn’t stand an honest chance. The results could be different if the Charger remained stock and kept its 707-hp rating. However, Hennessey isn’ known for keeping much of anything in stock form, so this is the race we get.