QOTD: Have We Entered the Golden Age of Horsepower?

Over the weekend, Chevy unveiled the chest-thumping Corvette ZR1, the fastest and most powerful production Corvette the world has ever seen. That they chose to hold the reveal of this great American nameplate in Dubai says a lot about current world affairs.

Regardless of its debut city, we’ll enjoy the fact we live in a world where one can purchase a 755 horsepower Chevy with a factory warranty. Certain corners of the internet weep into their Ovaltine about “the good old days,” hemming and hawing over the superiority of muscle machines from the ’60s and ‘70s. They were great cars, to be sure, but today’s gonzo levels of horsepower have us wondering – and asking you – where’s the upper limit for factory hot rods?

We all know Dodge laid down the first salvo of the in-the-affordable-realm horsepower war with the Hellcat, in both Challenger and Charger form. A full 707 of the roartiest Detroit horsepower attached to a chassis not fundamentally changed in an automotive eon was just the ticket to draw out all the superlatives from this author’s thesaurus.

They upped the ante, of course, with the Demon. Fun fact: Dodge announced just on Friday that the 2018 Demon has officially started shipping to dealerships. This means customers in the snow belt will get their 840 horsepower rocket sleds just in time to put them away for winter. Those in the southern states will be roasting tires, not turkeys, for Christmas.

Even the Shelby GT500 of 2011 was no slouch, boasting a robust horses out of its then-new 5.4-liter aluminium mill. Shedding over 100 pounds compared to the cast-iron lump available in the previous model year, the engine in the ’11 GT500 made 550 hp.

Which brings us neatly back to the ZR1. Its LT5 6.2-liter V8 is topped with a supercharger uses GM’s first dual-fuel-injection system, employing primary direct injection and supplemental port injection to make its power. Those horses, all 755 of them, are routed through either a seven-speed manual or an eight-speed auto with paddle shifters.

We blew through the 500 hp mark at the beginning of this decade, zipped past 600 hp not long after, and now find ourselves with several 700 hp options from which to choose. Not to mention, of course, the 800 hp club over at FCA. Question is, where do you think the upper level of horsepower is in a factory car?

[Image: General Motors]