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A 1955 Chevrolet convertible custom called Payback takes the body that introduced the small-block V8 to the world and rebuilds it with modern intent. Only 41,292 Bel Air convertibles left the factory that year, and decades of hot rodding have thinned that number considerably. Read on to find out what made 1955 the most consequential year in Chevrolet history and what it takes to earn a name like Payback.
Ford put one engine at the very bottom of the 1967 Mustang order sheet that almost nobody circled: the S-Code 390, a 320-horsepower FE big block that required a redesigned engine bay just to fit. Buyers looked at it, looked at the lighter small-block GT beside it, and mostly walked away. That indifference is exactly why a documented S-Code GT fastback in original spec is now one of the harder first-generation Mustangs to verify and to find.
A 1969 L88 Corvette, one of only 116 built and deliberately underrated by Chevrolet at 430 horsepower, takes on a 1972 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 officially rated at just 300 horsepower. A commenter who says they worked at Olds Experimental during this era insists that number was never accurate, and that a genuine W-30 could beat Mopars, GTOs, and Corvettes regularly. The race backs up the claim. Watch the run and read the insider testimony in the comments before trusting either car’s factory rating.
The name on these valve covers has shown up on three completely different Chevrolet engines across five decades, and every single time it’s meant one thing: this is the Camaro that isn’t messing around. Today’s version makes 455 horsepower and spits flames on overrun, but the badge traces straight back to a drag-strip-born small-block from 1970. Read on to find out what actually connects a modern Camaro SS to a Z/28 from half a century earlier.
A bone-stock, 707-horsepower Hellcat Challenger meets its match against a turbocharged Dodge Dakota sleeper build that most spectators never saw coming. Viewers are split between admiring the Hellcat’s factory muscle and cheering for the truck that “earned the Hellcat badge.” Watch to find out whether factory horsepower or a home-built turbo setup wins the quarter mile.
This Coyote V8 build takes an unusual path to big power: first converted to carburetors, then switched back to fuel injection using an AEM Infinity standalone ECU and Ford Racing parts, ultimately reaching 625 horsepower and spinning to 8,500 rpm without any forced induction. Produced by Power Automedia’s EngineLabs team, the build has sparked a comment section full of swap ideas, from a 1970s Road Runner to a Fox-body Mustang. Watch the full build to see how a stock Coyote gets there.
Mopar’s Crate HEMI Engine Kits let owners of any 1975-or-earlier Mopar bolt in genuine modern HEMI power — 383 horsepower from the 5.7-liter kit or 485 horsepower from the 6.4-liter version — without chasing down custom wiring or tuning. Each kit ships with an unlocked, pre-calibrated PCM that sidesteps the usual factory security headaches of a late-model engine swap. Debuted on two complete builds at the 2016 SEMA Show, the kits have owners of everything from Dusters to Aspens asking if their own project qualifies. Watch the full rundown of what’s included.
Two cars, three decades apart, both built around the same unusual idea: a high-performance engine wrapped in a body shaped for hauling people and cargo, not chasing lap times. One is a full-size American wagon with a glass-topped rear cabin. The other is a V12 shooting-brake from Maranello that sends power to all four wheels. Which one actually deserves the garage space?
Ford built the Boss 351 for exactly one model year, 1971, to homologate a racing program it had already walked away from. Fewer than two thousand left the factory before the entire Boss nameplate was retired. Underneath the wider, heavier restyled Mustang sat a 351 Cleveland assembled from a parts-counter wish list, and in Grabber Lime it announced itself from a block away. Here is what the engineers managed to push through, and why the car is still undervalued.
A 1969 Dodge Dart GTS with a small block 340 lines up against a 1969 Camaro SS 396 packing the rare solid-lifter L78, and the spec sheet says this should not even be a contest. It nearly wasn’t, just not in the direction anyone expected. Watch the quarter mile that has Mopar and Chevy fans still arguing over which engine really won.
MotorTrend’s Generation Gap pits a rare, numbers-matching 1969 COPO Chevelle, 427 cubic inches, 425 horsepower, and a body that looks like grandma’s car, against a McLaren-tuned 1987 Buick GNX turbo V6 that quietly out-torques expectations. Both cars disguise serious performance behind unassuming looks. See which one the hosts, and the comment section, actually side with.
Two Hemi-badged muscle cars, side by side, and no caption to settle the argument. Whichever specific models these are, that small emblem alone guarantees a debate, the 426 Hemi was rated at 425 horsepower when it reached showrooms in 1966, a figure most enthusiasts still consider conservative. It is proof that in the Mopar world, the badge can matter as much as the car wearing it.
For most of automotive history, more power meant worse fuel economy, and everyone accepted the trade. Then both numbers started improving at the same time, and the average new car quietly got faster than a 1970s muscle car while returning double the mileage. Read on for the specific technologies that broke the old compromise, and what it means for anyone shopping for performance today.
Car and Driver rides shotgun in the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at Willow Springs International Raceway, a demanding high-speed circuit known as “The Fastest Road in the West.” The track’s unforgiving sweepers are exactly the kind of test that separates real aerodynamic grip from marketing claims. Watch to see how GM’s most track-focused Corvette handles it.