C4 ‘vert put on a valiant show, but we suspect something might not be right.
This burnout carnage comes to us from the YouTube channel of Green Light Filming, and it features an early model C4 Corvette participating in a burnout competition. We don’t have any details on the car, but we know that this tire slaying shootout was held at the 2013 Garfield Time Trials in Duluth, Minnesota. What we do know is that the burnout didn’t end as smoothly as this Corvette owner had hoped.
C4 in the Burnout Box
This video begins with the Chevrolet Corvette ready to make a run at the burnout competition title in Duluth. While we don’t get any details on the car, it appears to be an early C4 model, which means that it is likely came from the factory with an L98 V8 with somewhere in the area of 245 horsepower and 345lb-ft of torque. However, this Corvette sounds pretty great during the burnout, so it is possible that the engine has been upgraded a bit.
As soon as the burnout begins, this C4 Corvette gets the tires spinning hard and within a few seconds, smoke is pouring from the rear tires. About 35 seconds into the video, the smoke is so thick that we can no longer see the car, but we can hear the engine roar as the automatic transmission goes back and forth between two gears.
Good Burnout Gone Bad
After a minute, the judge pulls the cord out of the driver’s hand to signal the end of time, at which point the burnout stops and the smoke clears. Just as the Corvette rolls out of the burnout box, the camera zooms in on a bit of fluid leaking from under the front end of the car. Spectators surmise that it is overheating, but as the car moves out away from the competition area, we can see a ton of antifreeze pouring from under the car.
Hopefully it was only an overheating issue, but the amount of antifreeze running from under this C4 Corvette and the amount of steam pouring from around the edges of the hood suggest that it could have been something more severe. In any case, this 1980s Corvette put on one hell of a great smoke show, so crank up your speakers and enjoy!
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
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"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
