Meet the Cummins-Powered Coal Runner Corvette

Cummins Diesel-Powered ’68 Corvette, aka the Coal Runner, Breaks 11-Second Barrier

There’s definitely no masking the power source for this Stingray dragster.

Nope, this C3 Corvette makes no bones about the fact that it’s powered by a 5.9-liter diesel Cummins straight-six engine. Just look at all that billowing, black smoke.

The Corvette is owned by Ryan Lusk of Michellville, Iowa. He appears to have put on quite a show at Byron Dragway’s ’12 Diesel Drags, judging from the video above.

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Sure, it’s not exactly the prettiest run down the dragstrip we’ve seen. The Stingray kicks out huge clouds of black smoke from a side-pipe while barreling down the straightaway. But it did manage to pull off an 11.88 second pass at 129 mph (207 km/h), which certainly is commendable for the ’68 Corvette, described as the “ultimate coal runner.”

Our guess is that the Corvette did not have to pass any EPA tests before hitting the dragstrip. But imagine catching the backdraft from this thing blowing by you on a windy day. Scary, huh?

Then again, for some, the C3 Coal Runner might be a welcomed whiff of a different kind of old-school power, a reminder of a period when things like turbo-charged engines and battery-operated vehicles weren’t even tangible ideas in the world of transportation. Yep, in case you’ve forgotten, diesel-powered automobiles date back to the early 1920s.

Via [Car Scoops]