An 18-year-old Corvette Z06 does a half-mile in 18 seconds

The C5-gen Chevrolet Corvette Z06 was universally recognized as a good-looking, lightweight and powerful sports car with exceptional torsional rigidity. Two decades after the launch, its glory started to fade – but an owner from Florida did it justice by tuning it to be on par with modern supercars.

Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds carried out the project, coming up with a whole number of high-end drivetrain components in the process. For those who forgot, the stock ‘Vette Z06 C5 churns out 405 hp (302 kW) and 542 Nm (400 ft-lbs) of torque, which can a bit lacking by modern standards. Once extensively tuned, it skyrocketed to 900 hp (671 kW) and 1,152 Nm (850 lb-ft) of torque.

First results arrived really quickly: when tested on a half-mile drag strip, the car had a slow launch but then proceeded to gain speed until it zapped past the finish line after just 18 seconds at 276 km/h (172.4 mph).