Edelbrock Supercharged Camaro Makes an Insane 851 HP on Pump Gas
If you thought your full bolt-on sixth gen was the hottest car on the block, pull up a chair and take some notes.
As you may know already, Edelbrock has had a long history of developing aftermarket parts for Chevrolet, and the LS market has rewarded them very handsomely over the years. Their current part lineup is the strongest yet, especially with the new Pro Flo 4 EFI system putting down impressive numbers across a bevy of Chevy small block applications.
LS1Tech got a chance to take a tour of the headquarters in Torrance, California, and boy was there a lot to take in. Seventy CNC machines, multiple 3D printers, two warehouses, three shifts that run 24/5. Needless to say, their volume is massive but there is one particular market segment where they’re making strides. Enter the Edelbrock E-Force supercharger on this beautiful Red Hot 2016 Camaro SS.
E-Force DP-3C: Power on Demand, Economy When You Need It
The E-Force supercharger line is Edelbrock’s current flagship platform for big boost applications; it accommodates Camaros, Mustangs, Wranglers, etc. This particular blower, the DP-3C, uses Eaton TVS 2650 rotors. As a result, this supercharger will give you an incredibly linear torque curve and tons of usable power all throughout the band.
Not Your Average Camaro
Here’s the thing though—this particular six-speed 2016 Camaro doesn’t use a factory Gen V LT1. It is Edelbrock’s proprietary crate motor that wields 851 horsepower on pump gas. Yes you heard that right, 93-octane pump gas.
“We’re using this Camaro body as a mule car to develop calibration settings,” said Nick Purciello, Edelbrock Product Manager. “When you look under the hood, you can definitely see that.”
The DP-3C uses an air inlet designed to accommodate a 103-millimeter throttle body. But according to Purciello, it makes 851 to the crank with the stock 87mm throttle body which is what you see here connected to a Rotofab filter. “You just can’t drive this car without it putting a smile on your face,” he said.
Because this system comes with a DP-3C, the compressed air moves from the blower into the cooler, fills the plenum under the lid and comes back down into the supercharger runners, effectively giving the air two cooling passes before it reaches the engine.
Factory PCM, Not Stock
Since it is a de facto crate engine, it uses GM’s PCM for factory motors, so it’s technically not stock. And as you can see, it’s got multiple wiring crossovers. Nothing really abnormal for a test mule but it is still interesting to see.
And if all that horsepower isn’t crazy enough, they plan on raising the stakes even higher. “We’ll eventually pull the motor out and put it back on the dyno to see how much more we can get out it,” said Purciello. Naturally, they wouldn’t tell us the parts they used but it is an experimental build, so we can’t blame them for that.
Upgraded Clutch
With a car making more power on pump gas than a Dodge Demon, they needed to change a couple of things. While the powertrain is custom, the the rest of the car, including the drivetrain, is pretty much stock. To accommodate all that extra power, they upgraded the clutch assembly with the McCloud RXT twin-disc system for all the dyno work they do.
“The idea for this was not to put all that power on the ground so much as it was to develop the driving characteristics for normal driving,” said Purciello. “The wide-open throttle power is developed more on the engine dyno.”
Makes sense to us. However, if this were ever a production car, we imagine they’d retain that clutch for obvious reasons.
It’s a shame this build will eventually be scrapped and the engine used for another application, but it is still cool to think of the wonders the Edelbrock DP-3C supercharger is capable of.
Photos by LS1Tech Editor Derin Richardson
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