C8 Corvette Takes on Ford F-150 Lightning in Electrifying Drag Race

The Ford F-150 Lightning is undoubtedly quick, but is it quick enough to take down a C8 Corvette?

The world is on the brink of at least one major change, and that’s the electrification of automobiles as automakers pivot away from ICE engines. For many, this is a touchy subject, and for good reason – most of us love our internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, and we like to wrench on them, too. However, it’s no secret that most EVs are at the very least quick right out of the box, and in some cases, they’re incredibly quick. For a truck, the Ford F-150 Lightning qualifies with 4.0-second 0-60 capability, but can it take down a C8 Corvette in a drag race? Well, that’s a question that YouTuber Brink of Speed recently discovered the answer to.

This obviously isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison by any measure, given the fact that we’re lining up a dedicated sports car against an all-electric pickup, but then again, it is interesting. In terms of powertrains, the C8 features GM’s naturally-aspirated LT2 V8 that we’re all quite familiar with by now, which cranks out 495 horsepower (with the Z51 package) and 470 pound-feet of torque driving the rear wheels. The F-150 Lightning, on the other hand, has two electric motors producing a combined 580 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque, since this Lariat model is equipped with the extended range battery. All Lightnings are all-wheel-drive, too.

The F-150 Lightning does have one major disadvantage when compared to the C8 Corvette, of course – its insanely heavy curb weight, which comes in at just over 6,000 pounds versus the Corvette’s 3,600 pounds. But can the pickup’s instant torque make up for that heft, much the way we’ve seen with the GMC Hummer EV and Tesla Model S Plaid? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

At the start, the F-150 Lightning actually does keep right up with the Corvette off the line, but after a second or two, the C8 starts to pull away rather easily. For the second race, the two back up a little further to give the Lightning more room, but the results are the same. Thus, they try a roll race next, but the C8 driver is in manual mode and botches that attempt. For the final race, the Corvette driver gives the Lightning a car length, but that doesn’t make a bit of difference either.

Clearly, the Corvette is still a much quicker vehicle than the F-150 Lightning, as paper numbers would suggest. However, it’s pretty cool to see these two vehicles go at it in a straight line, just to make sure that the C8 is still capable of winning this particular matchup in case someone finds themself lining up next to an EV pickup at the local drags.

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