You might think that the C5 Corvette holds little to no water today, in a world filled with C7 Z06 Corvetes, 650 hp factory-built CTS-Vs and even 700+ horsepower modern Mopars. However, there’s one gentlemen in particular, Eddie Blackwell, that has transformed his throwback C5 Z06 from a 405 hp sports car, into a 474ci. RHS block’d monster. Without the use of nitrous or boost, the car has seen half-mile trap speeds in excess of 179 mph during the WannaGOFAST half-mile event at Heaven’s Landing in Georgia!
Now it should be said that this is a fully-equipped street car; all comfort and convenience amnesties are still in place as it had left the factory well over a decade ago. It just has a lot of additional power – totaling 744 of them, in fact, with 646 lb-ft hitting the pavement right along with it.
You can chalk up the expertise of Ron Mowen and Vengeance Racing in Cumming, Georiga for such a feat, as their in-house engine facility, dynameter and expert, professional staff burned the midnight oil building this car, collectively, for the last eight years. That’s right, this one isn’t an overnight success going from a showroom stocker to a full-tilt half-mile racer, it has slowly evolved over the years, going faster and faster, up until recently, when it was previously equipped with a nitrous-injected 440ci. LS7.
Since then, the car has been resprayed white and equipped with new rollers. We have a feeling that Eddie and Ron aren’t quite done with this one quite yet, and we’ll be seeing much more of Blackwell’s C5Z, very soon!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
