A Texas-based tuner named Calvo Motorsports set out to see how much power it could squeeze out of the Dodge Viper‘s V10 engine while burning regular gas anyone can buy at the pump. The Viper isn’t exactly down on power to begin with. Fully stock, its 8.4-liter 10-cylinder makes 645 horsepower. While Calvo hasn’t detailed the build, a sticker on the hood indicates it’s fitted with a twin-turbocharger designed and built in-house.
The engine now delivers 1,607 horsepower while slurping 93-octane fuel, which makes it more powerful than the Bugatti Chiron‘s vaunted quad-turbocharged 16-cylinder. Out on the track, this Viper is a snake you want to steer clear of.
It devoured a Nissan GT-R as an appetizer. It also beat a sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvette, an older twin-turbocharged Viper, and a twin-turbocharged Lamborghini Huracan 610-4. Sprinting down an airstrip, it consistently hit 190 mph. The only car that got the best of it is a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera fitted with a pair of large turbochargers — notice a pattern?
Calvo points out that the General Lee-inspired Viper boasts 2,300 horsepower when it’s allowed to burn something other than premium unleaded. The more the merrier, but the video shows it’s possible to build a hot rod that makes supercar-like power without resorting to 100-octane gas, or a complex nitrous oxide injection system.
Look closely, there’s another lesson to be learned from watching a Viper race down an airstrip. Calvo’s creation confirms a GoPro mount will stay firmly attached to a car even as it approaches the 200-mph mark.
