Cicio Performance’s 900 HP Twin-Turbo C8 Is the Coolest Shop Car Ever

Despite its impressive output, this twin-turbo C8 was also tame enough to drive 800 miles in total comfort.

The Alpharetta, Georgia-based speed merchants at (CorvetteForum vendor) Cicio Performance have a stellar reputation for building some seriously fast cars. In fact, the crew just finished up another successful showing at this year’s TX2K, as their builds brought home a number of awards including Unlimited Roll Race Champion, Sport Roll Racing Class Champion, and an Elite 8 finish, to name a few. But personally, we think that Cicio’s twin-turbo C8 shop car was the coolest thing in Texas that weekend.

Cicio just finished installing their new bolt-on twin-turbo kit on the Corvette before the company’s namesake – Nathan Cicio – drove it all the way to Houston, Texas with no issues.  And while he was hanging out enjoying the festivities, Cicio also took the folks from That Racing Channel along for a ride, where they came away incredibly impressed with his shop’s handiwork.

“No check engine lights, no issues whatsoever,” Cicio said. “The car just drives butter-smooth down the highway.” As you’ve probably guessed given the fact that this car makes around 900 horsepower at the wheels, the twin-turbo C8 isn’t running fully on the factory ECU. Instead, Cicio’s team has tuned their Motec piggyback system to perfection, and there’s a surge tank of E85 on standby when 93 octane isn’t enough.

What’s particularly cool about this setup is how it automatically changes the fuel mixture when necessary. “When you roll the throttle is sprays the secondary E85, so it literally mixes with the 93,” Cicio says. “It makes it so it runs like what would be like an E50 mix, just absolutely seamlessly.”

Meanwhile, all of this helps support Cicio’s twin-turbo kit, which it developed with ETS, the company that manufactures it. And what better way to show off the kit’s potential with the coolest shop car on the planet? Cicio’s twin-turbo C8 is supported by an air-to-water intercooler setup that fits where the factory air box is located, along with a beefed-up heat exchanger to keep things cool.

What’s also cool about this setup is the fact that the piggyback ECU is there to support the turbos when they’re needed, while the factory ECU takes over during normal driving situations. Thus, save for upgraded clutches, the C8 can make huge power on the otherwise stock motor and transmission. In this case, Cicio has made 900 wheel horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque on a reasonable 11 pounds of boost.

So far, the car has run low sixes at 130 mph in the eighth mile, but Cicio says that he believes it will run high fives with a sticky tire out back. He’s clearly excited about the car’s potential, as well as the prospect of people one day buying up used C8s on the cheap and making 1,000 horsepower on the stock motor. And truthfully, who doesn’t get all tingly when they think about that possibility?

Photos: Cicio Performance

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