The new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is a highly impressive sports car, accelerating 0-97 km/h (0-60 mph) in three seconds flat. Despite packing only 502 hp (375 kW) under the hood, it is 0.1s faster than the old Corvette ZR1 with 766 hp (571 kW) at the crank. Isn’t it a bit suspicious, though?
That is what a U.S. journalist crew decided to find out. They put a C8 Corvette on the dyno and fired the engine. The results were nothing short of phenomenal: 565 hp (421 kW) at the wheels! With approximately 15% of transmission losses factored in, this means around 665 hp (500 kW) at the crank. The torque also shot through the roof, with 821 Nm (606 lb-ft) measured against the manufacturer-stated 637 Nm (470 lb-ft).
The team ran the measurements six times, just to be on the safe side. When asked to comment, Chevrolet provided an official explanation stating that the engine could demonstrate higher numbers from the cold start. However, this was simply not the case. The engine has been warmed up to its normal operating temperature prior to the tests. Furthermore, the new Corvette boasts a new dual-clutch transmission instead of the old manual shift, which should reduce the losses to far below 15%.
Another possible explanation is that Chevrolet gave a subtly tweaked Corvette for the media to review. In that case, we won’t know the truth until the cars start shipping.
This is not the first time car manufacturers put on a humble act while reporting performance numbers. The recent Audi RS7 Sportback and BMW X3 M are both good examples. However, it isn’t often you discover an extra 163 hp and 184 Nm under the hood.