Stock $800 C4 Corvette Gives S550 Mustang a Run for Its Money
Stock $800 C4 Corvette Gives S550 Mustang a Run for Its Money
Despite being at a disadvantage power-wise, this cheap C4 Corvette more than hangs with the newer pony car.
When the C4 Corvette came along in the mid-1980s, it was a futuristic-looking thing that won hearts with its balanced handling and good looks – not its performance. But then again, nothing during this dark period in the automotive world did. Regardless, the C4 has become an incredibly popular vehicle to mod in today’s world, thanks to its solid base and dirt-cheap cost.
In fact, YouTuber Becker managed to pick up his C4 Corvette for the bargain-basement price of just $800. His car is actually a newer, 1998 model with the 350 V8 underhood, so it’s not the worst performer of the C4 generation, either, though its 245 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque leave a lot to be desired by today’s standards.
In this video, Becker decides to see how the older Corvette matches up to a newer performance car – a 2017 Ford Mustang – in a series of drag races. This particular pony car is not a GT, nor does it have a V8 under its hood, however. Rather, the car is powered by Ford’s 3.7-liter V6 that was originally rated at 300 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque.
The Mustang is also fitted with a cold-air intake and cat-back exhaust, so it could be making a few more ponies than that. But given the fact that the Ford weighs quite a bit more than the Corvette, this should be a pretty even race, at least on paper. And that certainly translates to the real-world results between these two very different machines, too.
In race number one, the Mustang driver catches the Corvette driver sleeping and manages to win by a solid if unspectacular margin. Race number two starts out more evenly and the Corvette squeaks out the win, though the Mustang driver says he missed a shift. The third and final race proves to be too close to call, even in slow motion.
If nothing else, the result of these races proves once again that the C4 Corvette has become a real performance bargain. Yes, it obviously wouldn’t outrun a newer Mustang GT in a straight line, at least in stock form. But when you can buy one of these things for less than a grand, transforming one into a dominant drag racer, track car, or weekend warrior definitely won’t break the bank.
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