Lucas Bell 
Muscle cars and drag racing are about as American of a combination as you can get. And while the C8 Corvette may look more like a supercar than a muscle car on paper, it certainly still excels at this long standing Corvette pass time. Thanks to its all-new dual-clutch transmissions and the traction advantages of its mid-engined platform, the C8 is able to launch from 0-60 mph in just 2.9 seconds before completing the ¼ mile in 11.2 seconds. While those figures are impressive to read, we now have a chance to see this thing square off against some of its muscle car brethren at Michigan’s Milan Dragway.
Thanks to the Drag Racing and Car Stuff YouTube channel, we get to see the C8 Corvette take on a Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye, a Challenger Scat Pack, an S550 Mustang GT, and an LS-powered F-body Camaro. A good mix of cars making different levels of power, but ones that all follow the traditional front-engine rear-drive layout. As we’ll find out however, this isn’t alway a disadvantage.
During this Wednesday night test-and-tune event back in October, the Challenger Hellcat Redeye was the first car to take on the C8. Considering the Chally features a 797 horsepower supercharged V8, things didn’t look great for the Corvette. The Redeye proved that it is indeed a legit 10 second car, running a pass of 10.77 seconds at 132 MPH. The C8 Corvette couldn’t quite keep up with the malicious Mopar, clocking a 11.37 second pass at 121 MPH. The difference in trap speed alone lets you know just how much power the Dodge is making.
The second race of the evening involved an S550 Mustang GT, which went about as well as you might expect. The Corvette’s 495 horsepower is fairly comparable to the Mustang’s 460 angry ponies, and the cars do weigh about the same. But the Mustang is no match for Chevy’s latest weapon, as the Corvette ditched it almost immediately after the lights dropped. Unsurprisingly, this trend continued when the C8 lineup up against the Challenger Scat Pack. While we won’t spoil the exact results, the Ford was more than a second behind the C8, while the Chally caught silver by just .4 seconds.
The most entertaining of all of these races is undoubtedly the battle of the Chevrolets. The F-body Camaro may be an aging commodity at this point, but that doesn’t mean it can’t boogie. This car was able to hang with the C8 Corvette off the line, and is truly moving down the strip. The C8 crossed the finish line in just 11.51 @ 118 MPH, but the Camaro wasn’t far behind. With a final clock time of 11.87 @ 122 MPH, the old F-body outgunned every other opponent but the Redeye. And that, everyone, is why drag racing is awesome.
