Hennessey H700

 

Hennessey Performance is back again with another new creation busting at the seams with horsepower. It’s dubbed the H700 and it’s what you get when you supercharge a Chevrolet C8 Corvette, add a bunch of supporting mods, and tune it to make more power than a Z06. Now Hennessey wonders if its creation also sounds better than Chevy’s ultimate Vette. Make no mistake, the Z06 is a different beast in terms of track capability. Hennessey isn’t planting a flag to say that the H700 is faster around a track. Nevertheless, it is willing to say that in terms of power output, the supercharged H700 “outshines Chevrolet’s flagship C8 Z06”. To put it plainly, the stock Z06 makes 670 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. The Hennessey H700 develops 708 hp and 638 lb-ft of torque. Of course, the supercharged V8 is drastically different from the one in the Z06.

Hennessey uses the  6.2-liter LT2 V8 that the regular C8 Corvette ships with. It adds a high-flow centrifugal supercharger along with a new air induction system, an air-to-water intercooler, and an optional high-flow cat-back exhaust system. Then it tunes the engine with those components in place. As with other Hennessey products, the finished package comes with a full three-year or 36,000-mile warranty. It also gets a serial numbered engine bay plaque and unique Hennessey badging on the car itself. Pricing starts at US$ 34,950 for just the supercharger upgrade and warranty though the full package goes for US$ 49,950.

 

The engine hits peak torque at 5,000 rpm and peak power at 5,900 rpm. That’s a far cry from the screaming 6,300 rpm and 8,400 rpm where the Z06 figures peak at respectively. And it’s that difference that really determines how differently the two Corvettes sound.

To our ears, this competition comes down to personal preference more than anything else. Those who love the lobey-cammed-out sound of a built-up V8 will likely prefer that deep growl found in the H700 while others who prefer high-rpm screams will take the Z06. Clearly, both sound more aggressive than a stock C8 Corvette Stingray.