Meet the 700bhp Chevy Corvette

Hennessey has drawn first blood. He's only gone and built a very highly modified version of the brand-new, C7-generation Corvette ‘Stingray', pre-empting Chevy's very-own upcoming ZR1, which hasn't even been revealed yet. Talk about enthusiastic.

But then Hennessey is extremely enthusiastic about American muscle, and they don't get more muscly than this modified Corvette. Scheduled for release later this year, this performance pack boosts the ‘Vette Stingray's 6.2-litre V8 to 700bhp, via an Eaton TVS R2300 supercharger packing 8psi of boost, CNC-ported factory cylinder heads and a HPE custom camshaft, HPE induction system and a recalibrated ECU.

Not enough? Terrifyingly, Hennessey also offers up an 800bhp performance pack, using twin ball-bearing turbochargers, aluminium pistons, forged steel rods and crankshaft, high flow cylinder heads and stainless steel turbo and exhaust pipes (among other things). Oh, and there's also a 1000bhp one available too, because some people enjoy the fit of a finely tailored straitjacket.

There are some external modifications available to better pronounce this freshly-prepared aggression: a new front splitter, side sills, a power-domed bonnet and rear spoiler, all crafted from ‘hand-laid' carbon fibre that help increase downforce too. "We're only interested in changes that deliver a measurable increase in performance, period," opines Mr Hennessey.

Fancy it? The 700bhp pack will cost you $18,450, while the 1000bhp pack weighs in at $67,950 (installed), plus the cost of the donor car, don't forget. This last price doesn't factor in the cost of either preventative heart surgery nor a lifetime of medicating panic attacks. Just so you're warned.