Who doesn’t love an oddball drag race? By that, I mean an ultra-expensive supercar going up against a G-Body Chevy wagon. But it’s not as cut-and-dry as it sounds: the McLaren might have 750 horsepower and weigh around 2,600 pounds, but the Chevy’s got all the drag racing tech and development.
In this recent installment of This Vs. That, the boys at Hoonigan setup up one of their best drag races yet: a brand-new McLaren 765LT and an LS3-power Chevy Malibu wagon. It’s high-tech vs. a different kind of high-tech. The McLaren might have the latest in twin-turbo, flat-plane crank V8 technology, be mostly made of carbon fiber, and have a gazillion dollars invested into its aerodynamics, but the Chevy’s got good ol’ American ingenuity.
I find myself discussing good ol’ American ingenuity fairly frequently here at Car Autance.
Anyway, it’s a really cool showdown. The McLaren owner seems like a nice guy and even mentions that he used to drag race an EF Civic way back in the day. The best way to learn all about what makes the 765LT an absolute monster is to listen to Uncle Doug tell you a nice bedtime story.
The Malibu owner comes from a drag racing family. It’s got a lot of engineering under the hood, through the drivetrain, and on the rear axle. The powerplant is pretty damn cool: It’s a carbureted LS3 with quite obviously a lot of work done to it to achieve around 660 horsepower. A nice touch: he’s even retained the front bench seat, which is quite rad, though probably not the safest retention.
The wagon ends up winning best out of three, which surely is due to being a very focused drag car. Had it had less-sticky tires mounted up in the rear, it might’ve been wiped by the Woking Warrior. My money was on the wagon the whole time. You know me, I love McLarens, but I also love… here I say it again… good ol’ fashion American ingenuity.
