In retrospect, it seems inevitable: Texas tuning shop Hennessey is planning to build a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 with 1,200 horsepower.As if the vehicle wasnt already hard enough for some good ol boys to adjust to, being mid-engined and all, now that extra horsepower will be sure to send all said boys into other peoples yards even quicker.To make it happen, Hennessey will take the LT2 V8 and bolt on two massive turbochargers. To stop it from becoming tiny shards of engine parts, forged aluminum pistons and forged steel connecting rods will be installed, along with a few other bespoke parts.To send the power to the wheels, Hennessey says it will incorporate an upgraded and fortified factory dual-clutch automatic transmission and a full Brembo brake system. Those Brembos will definitely be getting a stiff workout. The HPE1200, as it will be called, doesnt have a price or a release date yet, but were sure itll be too soon before we see a bunch of these things terrorizing our quiet neighbourhoods.Before the HPE1200 is built, Hennessey will also unveil a line of products for the C8, like a stainless steel exhaust system, a supercharger upgrade good for 700 horsepower, and more once computer tuning becomes available for the new C8 platform.Hennessey has also revealed it has modified over 500 C7s so far, and the next upgrades it will make available for purchase will be decided by online questionnaire. The customers are telling us what they want and big surprise they want more power! says John
Origin: Hennessey plans to build a 1,200-hp Corvette C8 because of course
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News Roundup: A pickup tug-of-war war, a 1,000-hp Mustang, plus an actual pony car
Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.Ford wants a rematch of the F-150 vs. Cybertruck tug-of-war, sort ofThe Blue Oval wasn’t pleased with its brief inclusion in Tesla’s Cybertruck reveal. During the live event, Elon Musk played a clip of the Cybertruck running away (uphill!) with Ford’s popular pickup hitched to its back bumper in a tug of war, the F-150 struggling to gain any sort of traction. In response, a VP at Ford called the contest unfair and demanded a rematch, saying Tesla cherry-picked a two-wheel-drive F-150. But when Musk said “Bring it on,” other talking heads at Ford seemed to walk the challenge back, telling Fox News it had been intended as a “tongue in cheek” comment. LISTEN: In this week’s episode, we talk about all the electrifying news coming out of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show with Postmedia Driving senior writer David Booth, including Ford’s bold Mustang Mach-e SUV. And, of course, we get Booth’s take on Tesla’s Cybertruck. Plugged In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts.Is the player not working? Click here.The 4,000-horsepower Thor24 fetches US$12M at auctionAfter going under the hammer in Saudi Arabia, this 24-cylinder 12-supercharger 3,974-horsepower semi found its new owner — for a truckload of money. The custom big rig dubbed “Thor24” lines up two 12-cylinder Detroit diesel engines that, along with a nitrous boost pack, can get its 32,000-pound frame up to 200 km/h. Four 12-foot chutes help to bring it back down. US$12M seems like a deal, because that flaming paint job is priceless. This Ohio dealership is selling 1,000-horsepower Mustangs for US$55,000It’s called “Project M,” and it’s one wild pony. At the base: a Mustang GT (300a) with a modest interior and a Level 1 Performance Pack with automatic transmission. But Lebanon Ford in Ohio was able to saddle the pony with 1,000 horsepower from a Whipple supercharger or D1X Procharger, an upgraded fuel pump, a larger heat exchanger. The wildest part is the price of just CDN$73,000, which undercuts the 797-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye by $20,000. The Internet’s most hilarious reactions to the Tesla Cybertruck revealIt was big news. Partly because it’s an electric pickup finally here, partly because it looks like a couple of stacked triangles, and partly because, in the process of revealing it live, Tesla unintentionally broke not one but two windows while attempting to display their durability. Twitter almost instantly had a roundup of hilarious memes reacting to the Cybertruck, while Wall Street showed its uncertainty with a 6-per-cent drop in Tesla stock price, and more than a few people pointed out its proximity in looks to a certain time-travelling coupe. Horseplay a la highway—French police spot pony in passenger seatA woman piloting a microcar near Marseille in Southern France was stopped by police watching for distracted drivers after they saw a curious passenger riding shotgun. When they realized that, oui, c’est un cheval, the authorities snapped a pic and arrested the woman, who excused the fact she had a horse in the small car because she didn’t have the license to drive a more appropriately sized van. Are we sure this wasn’t Florida? Feels like
Origin: News Roundup: A pickup tug-of-war war, a 1,000-hp Mustang, plus an actual pony car
Ford is recalling 1,500 Rangers in Canada for fire risk
Ford is recalling 1,544 Ranger pickups in Canada because of the fire risk posed by their blower motors.A total of 19,509 trucks from model year 2019 are affected in North America.On affected trucks, there may not be enough clearance between an electrical terminal and a base plate inside the HVAC systems blower motor, making a short circuit possible.If an electrical short does occur, the blower could overheat, smoke, melt or catch fire.Ford has not heard from any Ranger owners affected by the issue though one warranty claimant did report smoke in the cabin, possibly due to the short but six trucks were affected prior to their delivery to dealerships.Ford will replace the parts in affected
Origin: Ford is recalling 1,500 Rangers in Canada for fire risk
Ford’s new 2020 Super Duty can tow 37,000 lbs, thanks to 1,050 lb.-ft. of torque
The 2020 F-Series Super Duty is delivering next-level capability in an all-new way – the Tremor Off-Road Package. Tremor pushes the boundaries of Super Duty off-road capability with new hardware and tech to handle rough terrain, providing greater towing and payload than Ram Power Wagon. This is the most capable off-road Super Duty ever. Fords new 2020 Super Duty has taken the title for best-in-class towing, the automaker says, boasting its truck can haul a maximum 37,000 lbs (16,782 kg) on a gooseneck trailer.Equip your pickup with the venerable 6.7-litre Power Stroke diesel and you should theoretically be able to lug 32,500 lbs (14,741 kg) if youre using a fifth wheel; or 24,200 lbs (10,976 kg) via a conventional hitch.The mill pulls it off thanks to 475 horsepower and 1,050 lb.-ft. of torque.The Super Duty also comes available with a 6.2-litre gasoline V8, good for 385 hp and 430 lb.-ft. of torque, which give it a best-in-class payload rating of 7,850 lbs (3,560 kg), Ford says. Finally, theres the new 7.3-litre gasoline V8, which boasts some pretty big output figures 430 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque but no class-leading moving-things capabilities, apparently. Specific payload and max towing capacities for all engines vary depending on body style and axle ratio.The 2020 Super Duty should hit Ford dealerships later this
Origin: Ford’s new 2020 Super Duty can tow 37,000 lbs, thanks to 1,050 lb.-ft. of torque
Updated Rezvani Tank now packs 1,000 horsepower
Looking for all the world like an extra out of Demolition Man, the Rezvani Tank is a brute of a machine designed for either quashing a dissident uprising or tooling around Beverly Hills.While it is surely capable of the former, one look at the promotional videos on the brands homepage assures us the Tank will be used for the latter.Rezvani is a company based out of Orange County in California, so that revelation should not be a surprise.Previously available with a Pentastar V6 or SRTs 6.4-litre mill, reports have surfaced the updated Rezvani will offer yet another engine one which cranks out 1,000 horsepower. Itll be called the Tank X, and it can be yours for a mere $349,000.While the press bumf loudly touts the 1,000-hp figure, this isnt the Hellephant engine Mopar introduced at SEMA last year. The company specifies this mill is a 6.2-litre Supercharged V8 Demon. Those with long memories an elephant never forgets, right? will recall the enormous 426-cubic-inch Mopar monster displaces an even 7.0 litres. A six-speed automatic is the Tank Xs only option.A quick perusal of Rezvanis build-and-price tool reveals the $349,000 sticker price to simply be a starting point for financial hilarity. Adding a Dana 60 rear end costs $8,500 while automatic side steps are another $2,500. Thermal night vision, perfect for tracking down pesky infidels, adds $6,500 to the invoice.After learning Rezvani charges an eye-popping $12,500 for a six-inch lift kit, your author decided he is definitely in the wrong business.For fun, we went through the configurator and checked every box, including the ones for a $6,500 starry night headliner and $7,500 auxiliary gas tank. Total price? $429,585.Checking in at 84 inches wide and 190 inches long, the Rezvani Tank X puts down a footprint roughly that of a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, albeit one that is ten inches wider than stock. Its about ten inches taller than a Wrangler as well, so watch that low bridge. Truth be told, the new Wrangler JL does form the basis of this beast, explaining the design changes to this 2020 model compared to last years tank, which used the old JK Wrangler as its starting point.By the way, this thing is packed with bulletproof armouring and EMP protection, meaning youll still be able to drive to your secret lair after the attack. Bombs
Origin: Updated Rezvani Tank now packs 1,000 horsepower
All-electric Ford F-150 pulls a 1-million-pound train 1,000 feet
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFord Ford is literally shocking long-time F-150 owners with a stunt involving a prototype all-electric F-150.Okay, maybe not literally in the sense its running the battery-powered trucks voltage through their chests, but the pickup is leaving them very thoroughly taken aback.In a video posted July 23, Linda Zhang, Fords chief engineer for the F-150 program, pilots the prototype as it tows a million-pound train from rest, a feat no other truck has ever done before. Sure, thereve been other stunts involving pulling planes and other heavy things, but not a million-pound train.The audience for the stunt are a bunch of F-150 owners, guys with mostly newer models, but a few older models, too, including a 1990s truck and a late 1970s model.Their electric-vehicle skepticism sloughs away as the truck pulls the train no problem. Overcoming the rolling resistance of steel-on-steel train wheels is impressive, as is the fact its able to yank the train cars 1,000 feet, a distance marked by 42 F-150s parked end-to-end (because, yknow, thats the number of years its been the U.S. best-selling truck). After the stunt is completed, Zhang ups the ante by loading the 42 gasoline-powered trucks into the train and attempting to pull it again, the load now tipping the scales way over 1 million pounds. Hopefully, the stunt changes the minds of some people that doubt the capabilities of electric vehicles, and helps usher in a new era of electric utility. Hybrid F-150s are expected to arrive in 2020, with all-electric models soon
Origin: All-electric Ford F-150 pulls a 1-million-pound train 1,000 feet
Hennessey’s gone ahead and built a 1,000-hp Jeep Gladiator
We now live in a world where gearheads can buy a Jeep pickup truck packing 1,000 horsepower. And as a proponent of everything that is over-the-top-iary, your author is totally fine with this development. This psychotic level of Jeep-mania is brought to us by the folks at Hennessey, who’ve stuffed a 6.2-litre supercharged Hellcat V8 under its flat-brim hood and cranked the wick to eleven. They’re calling it the Maximus 1000. “We wanted to create the ultimate Jeep Gladiator,” said company founder and chief horsepower evangelist John Hennessey, in what is surely the greatest understatement since astronaut Jim Lovell radioed Houston about a “problem.” Starring in a supporting role to the thousand horsepower are 933 lb.-ft. of torque. The Hennessey team didn’t just plug in a Hellcat engine and call it a day. A model-specific set of natty bumpers are fitted, along with a stainless steel exhaust and a set of BFGs on 20-inch wheels. It also stands taller than a stock Gladiator thanks to a 6-inch lift and upgraded suspension system. Details are scanty but one can easily see snazzy twin cylinders out back, incorporated into the rear suspenders. Jeep spox have gone on record as saying the Hellcat engine will certainly fit between the fenders of a Gladiator, that but the automaker has little desire to pursue that option thanks to prohibitive crash test requirements. Given that it would be a niche trim at best, that’s probably a good decision, especially since the aftermarket will provide plenty of opportunity for horsepower-crazed Jeep fans to get their fix. Production is very exclusive and limited to just 24 units. The complete cost for the Maximus 1000 is a cool US$200,000, which generously includes the base Jeep Gladiator truck. I’d at least ask ‘em to toss in a set of floor mats. Production will begin in July and build time for each example will be approximately four months, roughly equating the expected lifespan of a set of tires on this thing. The company plans to finish two units per
Origin: Hennessey’s gone ahead and built a 1,000-hp Jeep Gladiator
1,000-horsepower Mopar engine sells out in two days
Mopar is celebrating HEMI Day (4/26) by opening orders for the 1,000 horsepower “Hellephant” 426 Supercharged Crate HEMI® Engine and Kit. Originally unveiled at the 2018 SEMA Show in Las Vegas last fall, the “Hellephant” is a Mopar-first for a 1,000-horsepower crate engine kit offered by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), paired with a stunning 950 lb.-ft. of torque. Chrysler’s new 1,000-horsepower crate engine just sold out in two days, despite its US$30,000 price tag. Expect to see a lot of well-heeled people going really fast really soon. Offered by Fiat Chrysler’s Mopar division, the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-litre) engine was dubbed the “Hellelephant,” a combination of Hellcat engine and elephant, a nickname given to the big, heavy, and powerful 426-cid engines of Chrysler’s past. Mopar announced it would start taking pre-orders on April 26 – known to enthusiasts as “Hemi Day” because the date is 4-26 – and according to website Allpar, an FCA spokesperson said “given the high demand and the hand-built, time-intensive build process, we have closed pre-ordering for the 426 Hellephant Supercharged Hemi crate engine.” The company didn’t reveal exactly how many pre-orders that was, but Allpar speculated that it might be one hundred. The engine doesn’t come with Mopar’s usual warranty of three years or 160,000 kilometres, just ninety-day coverage against defects in production, and not for engines used in racing. The $29,995 engine price doesn’t include the wiring harness or powertrain control module, which come in an optional plug-and-play kit for an additional $2,265. The engine, which has a 3.0-litre supercharger and makes 950 lb-ft of torque, could possibly be opened up again to more orders in future, but for now, it’s only a lucky few who’ll be putting this powerful pachyderm under their
Origin: 1,000-horsepower Mopar engine sells out in two days
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