Month: December 2013

A boost from Hennessey Performance proved to be enough for a 2014 Corvette Stingray to crack the 200mph barrier for the first time on Dec. 11.

The Stingray had been upgraded with a Hennessey HPE600 system that boosts the car’s horsepower to 600 from the factory 460, as well as a Nitrous Express 100-hp nitrous oxide system.

Company founder John Hennessey put the pedal to the metal for the record-breaking performance that was held on a closed section of the newly completed segment E of Texas State Highway 99.

It was a great way to break in the road, which connects Interstate 10 with Highway 290 and will officially open to the public on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Hennessey was able to make the run, thanks to the cooperation of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers.

Those troopers used their radar to confirm that the Hennessey Stingray did indeed reach 200.6 mph, a mark also verified by the VBox GPS-based data acquisition system.
After the drive, Hennessey praised the Corvette’s performance.

“The road is perfectly smooth, and the Corvette was very stable and easy to drive at 200 mph,” he said. “I’d put the Texas highway system up against any other highway in the world, including the German Autobahn. Our roads have proven to be smooth and safe at speeds well above 200 mph.”

Hennessey was quick to point out that “under normal driving situations, drivers should observe speed limits that have been determined to be safe for travel on the road.”

Of course, the factory Stingray is already one of the fastest cars on the planet, with a top speed of 180mph, but the Hennessey additions of long-tube headers, ported factory cylinder heads, high-flow cats, HPE camshaft and HPE tune – plus the nitrous system and improved aerodynamics – proved to be enough for the Corvette to break the hallowed 200mph ground.

If you don’t want to bother with nitrous, Hennessey says its soon-to-be-released HPE700 system can break 200 mph without resorting to that. Installed price for that package is $22,500.

Source:
Hennessey Performance

Related:
[VIDEO] John Heinricy Drives the Hennessey HPE600 Corvette Stingray
Hennessey Offers Horsepower Boost for the 2014 Corvette Stingray
[VIDEO] First C7 Corvette Non-Z51 Seven-Speed Manual Quarter Mile Run