The talented Emelia Hartford and her C8 ‘Vette have made it into our news section multiple times this year, and now, General Motors decided to invite her over and say thanks.
“We love what you are doing,” a company representative was quoted saying. Here’s hoping the words are sincere, because General Motors sent the opposite message to tuners all around the world when it encrypted the new Corvette ECU against modding attempts. Emelia found a way around by plugging in an external Holley ECU and overriding most functions with it.
As a result, the naturally aspirated, mid-mounted eight-cylinder engine managed to rev up to 1,036 PS (1,022 hp / 762 kW) and 1,277 Nm (942 lb-ft) of torque. The tuning involved replacing many components, but dual Extreme Turbo Systems turbines were the main modification. Soon after finishing the job, the driver set a sub-10-second quarter-mile record. The best time recorded for this particular ‘Vette so far is 9.36 seconds.
With the “Phoenix” Corvette gaining something like a celebrity status in the USA, someone actually offered $180,000 for it. As far as we know, the deal was not discussed.