1969 L88 Corvette Takes on Dodge Demon in Classic Drag Race

New vs Old

While most of us place vintage cars on a lofty pedestal in our minds, the simple fact of the matter is, newer performance machines are generally always quicker/faster. That's true even when you're talking about something as incredibly competent as the rare Corvette L88, as we can see in the very cool drag race between a 1969 version of the Corvette racer for the street and the newest example of a purpose-built factory drag racer, the Dodge Demon, in this video from Cars and Zebras.

Same but Different

It's amazing enough to see one of the 216 C3 L88s at a drag strip as it is, let alone watch the owner drive it as intended. On the flip side, the Demon is no mass-produced ride either, as just over 3,000 were built in total. Regardless, there are some big disparities between these two cars that make them quite different despite their similarities.

>>Join the conversation about this raging L88 right here in Corvette Forum.

Underrated Gem

The L88 is powered by GM's 427 cubic-inch big-block V8 that was famously (and hilariously) underrated at 435 horsepower. The actual output is closer to 500, though this particular example has been punched out to 439 cubic inches and has received a bump in compression from 12:1 to 13.5:1, so it's likely making even more power.

>>Join the conversation about this raging L88 right here in Corvette Forum.

Big Advantage

Regardless, this classic ride can't quite match up to the Demon's supercharged 6.2-liter V8 that puts out an incredible 808 horsepower and 717 pound-feet of torque from the factory. Despite its hefty 4,200-pound curb weight, the Demon was specifically built to do one thing very well - get down the drag strip as quickly as possible, and it does that pretty well.

>>Join the conversation about this raging L88 right here in Corvette Forum.

Obvious Result

Thus, even though the Corvette obviously has far less weight to push down the quarter-mile, everyone with a brain knows how this drag race is going to turn out, especially when the Demon is capable of running nines right out of the box. But we don't really care about those sorts of things, because it's just cool to see these two line up.

>>Join the conversation about this raging L88 right here in Corvette Forum.

Power Talks

The vintage Corvette gets off the line quickly as the driver cuts a nice tree, but once the Demon hooks, it's all over. The modern-day supercharged machine uses its massive power advantage to leap ahead early on and never looks back.

>>Join the conversation about this raging L88 right here in Corvette Forum.

Real Winner?

The Demon winds up running a 10.32 versus the Corvette's 11.55-second quarter-mile, which is obviously a clear win. But we don't have to tell you which one we'd rather have. Even if you take the Corvette's value into consideration, it's still by far the coolest car out of this duo, and it isn't even close.

>>Join the conversation about this raging L88 right here in Corvette Forum.

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