Sometimes when cars end up in the hands of customers they do not make the same horsepower as the the ones driven by the media fleet. Hennessey Performance Engineering got the “first customer-owned C7” and have tested it internally on their own private drag strip.

News flash; it’s fast!

For those not paying attention, the automatic-equipped C7 Stringray ran a 12.23s at 114.88mph. A 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S in the hands of Edmunds.com took 12.3s but at a slower 108mph. That higher ending speed means that when both vehicles crossed the 1/4 mile line, the Corvette was accelerating faster than the Porsche was at that time.

Hennessey Stingray

Hennessey Stingray concept.

Hennessey Performance Engineering are in the habit of taking fast cars and making them faster. They recently unveiled their modified MP4-12C to the world, and make tons of horsepower from lots of different American muscle cars.

It has been a good week for the Stingray. Tanner Foust drove the Stingray around the streets of Detroit showing off the car’s performance on the US version of Top Gear (watch full episode here).

The most exciting news, though, is Stingrays appear to be showing up in the hands of customers. The North American International Auto Show seemed so long ago now, and there have been Stingray sightings on the road.

Stringray

Stingrays on their way to a new home. (Photo: Nick Malone)

The new Corvette has been in development for a long time, and the project was even paused during the Great Recession due to lack of funding from General Motors. For Corvette enthusiasts, this car is a long time coming. For General Motors, this is the Corvette’s first real, honest opportunity to take the sports car fight to the Germans.

While it is nice to think that the Corvette could dethrone the Porsche 911, that is not likely going to happen. But people love an underdog, and the Corvette Stingray is definitely that!