Half-ton Sierra packs 1,323 rear wheel horsepower from a monster twin turbo build.
The folks at Late Model Racecraft are well-known for their high performance aftermarket packages for GM vehicles but this GMC Sierra Denali might be the most impressive. If nothing else, it is the most impressive newer Sierra we have ever seen, packing an incredible 1,323 rear wheel horsepower, while looking like your average half-ton luxury truck. Fortunately, the sound of the boosted V8 gives it away, but this is one stunning sleeper.
The LMR Denali
At rest, the truck in the video from the Late Model Racecraft YouTube channel likely looks like a late model GMC Sierra Denali with some custom wheels, but under the hood is one of the sickest truck engines we have seen on a modern pickup.
Sadly, we do not have specifics and Late Model Racecraft only goes up to 1,000-horsepower packages on their website, so we don’t know what went into this build. We know that it has a couple turbochargers that are probably pretty huge and we believe that this Sierra has some variation of the new LT1 engine architecture. It could be a worked version of the factory-equipped L86 or it could have received an LT1, but in any case, it is making insane power with a big boost setup.
Street Pulls
The video begins with a few clips of the GMC Sierra Denali pickup making rolling pulls on the open road. At first, the truck starts at roughly 13 miles per hour and accelerates hard to about 141 miles per hour. It takes the big, boosted GMC pickup about 13 seconds to climb 128 miles per hour; something that many performance cars cannot do.
Next, the driver starts at 45 miles per hour and hammers down, climbing to 134 miles per hour in just nine seconds. In other words, it picked up 90 miles per hour in just nine seconds. We also get to see the truck smoke the rear tires at a high-speed roll from a rear-facing view, before we head off to the dyno.
On the Rollers
The video ends with several clips of the turbocharged GMC Sierra Denali stretching its legs on the dyno. On the street pulls, the truck was “only” around 900 rear wheel horsepower, but for the dyno runs, they let it all hang out.
On these runs, the monstrous GMC pickup laid down 1,323 horsepower and 1,219 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful late model Sierra we have seen.
"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.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"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.
