It’s no secret that, generally speaking, turbo combinations make a lot of steam at the far end of the track, though often at the expense of the bottom end grunt of a supercharged combination. Exhibiting that point in probably the most extreme fashion possible in the 1/8th mile, Eric Dillard, already the PDRA Pro Extreme MPH record holder at 221 MPH, blasted to a brain-melting 223 MPH speed in pre-race testing at Rockingham Dragway on Thursday.
Testing the Q80 Racing-sponsored ’68 Camaro for the upcoming PDRA Spring Nationals, Dillard scorched the Rockingham asphalt from start to finish in 3.65 seconds, remarkably over a tenth of a second SLOWER than Bubba Stanton’s record of 3.51, but powered out the back door with what would have been a new MPH record had the run occurred during competition. Powered by PLR’s insane 481X powerplant and a pair of monster Precision Turbo 98mm turbo’s that produce somewhere in the neighborhood of infinity horsepower. Okay, the actual horsepower output is closer to four thousand, which was enough to push the car to such dizzying speeds.
ProLine has never been known for resting on its laurels, so expect to see the ET numbers falling and the MPH climbing with this badass hot rod, which was the first turbo car into the 3.50s. Tuner extraordinaire Steve Petty continues to refine the tune and technology advancements allow Dillard and Turky al Zafiri, who typically pilots the Q80 car, to ride these rocketships to more ridiculous performances.
Last season, Al Zafiri piloted the El General Camaro to a top speed of 272 MPH in the 1/4 mile. Let it sink in – a doorslammer has been within 30 MPH of the magical 300 MPH zone!