WATCH A C8 CORVETTE THUNDER DOWN THE AUTOBAHN AT 150 MPH

The C8 Corvette is one of the hottest sports cars on sale in the United States. The mid-engined coupe hasn’t just captured the hearts of Americans however, with the C8 going on sale in Europe back in 2021. Thanks to the folks over at AutoTopNL, we have a chance to see how the car’s American V-8 fares when pushed on the German Autobahn.

The C8 Corvette is powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 engine known as the LT2. While similar to the C7’s LT1 V-8, the LT2 picks up a nice bump in the output department. Spec a C8 with the Z51 Performance Package in the States, and the resulting sports car will produce 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque. The engine comes exclusively mated to a Tremec TR9080 dual-clutch transmission. That said, our friends over in Europe are left with a slightly different Corvette than the rest of us. Due to the EU’s gas particulate filter requirements, a new C8 Corvette Stingray sold in European markets makes just 468 hp and 452 lb-ft of torque. That isn’t a massive drop in power by any means, but the change in exhaust tone is noticeable. Not that the Euro-spec Stingray sounds disappointing by any means, as it still brings that unmistakable small-block character. The C8 also marks the first time that GM has offered the Corvette in both left and right-hand drive configurations, which makes it a bit easier to live with on the old continent.

During the first acceleration run in the clip, the Rapid Blue Corvette slices across the Autobahn on its way up to 150 mph. The car is as stable as you’d expect during the process, unbothered by the driver’s decision to move lanes. It is worth noting that the Corvette appears to lose a bit of steam near that 150-mph mark, though that isn’t entirely surprising for a naturally aspirated car at this power level. The next pass sees the driver push the car up over 165 mph, which further highlights the less-than-ideal top-end performance. The Corvette makes a few more runs up to those speeds during the video, but the driver never gets the thing beyond 165 mph. GM says the top speed of a Z51-equipped car is 184 mph, while an aero-less Stingray will hit 194 mph. Based on what we see in the clip above, you’re gonna need a lot of space to test that out for yourself.

We can’t wait to see how the all-mighty Z06 stacks up against its little sibling when it hits the Autobahn with cameras attached.

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2023-04-28T16:04:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd