This video is filed under Things You Never Thought you’d See.
Hennessey Performance is the best at demonstrating how its products stand out from the rest. Although the company is best known for its aftermarket tuning services, it also offers many upgrades for pickup trucks, SUVs and other vehicles. The 2018 Chevy Tahoe has the HPE800 upgrade. Chevy was hesitant to add the SS badge to the RST, which is the most powerful Tahoe ever built. The RST’s 6.2 liter V8 – which is also found in the Corvette Stingray, Camaro SS – produces 420 horsepower and 460 pound feet of torque. This engine is powerful enough to get organic kale chips but not impressive enough for Texas ribs.
Hennessey’s HPE800 package included a number of performance upgrades that help the Tahoe RST’s V8 produce 805 horsepower and 812 lb/ft. The tuner installed a 2.9-liter supercharger that delivers 10 psi boost. The tuner added a custom-forged aluminum piston, billet steel H beam connecting rods and long-term headers. The SUV can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and run a quarter-mile in 12.3 seconds at 112 miles per hour.
Hennessey compared the Tahoe RST to a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody equipped with a manual transmission in order to prove its performance. Weight is an important factor when you drag race these massive machines. The Hellcat weighs in at 4,498 pounds while the Tahoe RST is over 5,356. The Tahoe’s power is unmatched by the Challenger, even with its weight advantage. From its supercharged, 6.2-liter V8 engine, the Hellcat produces 707 horsepower and 650 lbft of torque. The Hellcat is just too powerful to match the Tahoe. The Challenger is left behind as the Tahoe takes the lead at the start line.
When shopping for a vehicle, it’s unlikely that someone will choose the Hellcat over a Tahoe. Hennessey can help you if you need an SUV and want performance.