What an absolute beast!
Some people wouldn’t expect much from a 1981 Chevy Camaro, and admittedly in factory form they would be justified. However, this 1,100-horsepower beast is far from how it rolled out of the factory. Having already captured a few speed records, this Big Block Camaro recently returned to the Salt Flats after an unfortunate incident back in 2011.
Watch a Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano play on the Salt Flats here.
As you already guessed, what’s under the hood is nowhere near factory spec. It’s running a 454 with a quarter-inch stroke, increasing displacement to 489ci. That’s impressive, but the massive Vortec supercharger is pushing 10 lbs. of boost. Weirdly enough, the blower goes through a carb, but you can’t argue with results, so it definitely works. Plus, this car races in a classics category, so fuel injection isn’t allowed.
Whenever you’re pushing the envelope, things are bound to go wrong, and that’s definitely a challenge for this team. They do their best to adapt to problems and find solutions, showing that motorsports is often about solving problems and not just looking cool.
Even with a great car in perhaps the most ideal setting in the world, not everything always comes together. Weather, surface conditions, driver error, and mechanical failures are just some of the things you have to fight against. But for anyone looking to set a record, which is the laser focus of the team, you have to push through all that and keep locked onto that target. To see them keep their cool under pressure is inspiring.
The video gives you a pretty good look at how Speed Week on the Bonneville Salt Flats are run, so if you haven’t seen that before it can be educational. Even better, you get to see this beastly Big Block Camaro in action again.
