Taking the Cheapest Possible Turbocharged V8 Down the Drag Strip

When it comes to hot rodding, one corner of the community that we have always been fascinated with is a group of folks who build cars on a budget. While it is also fun to go out and spend a lot of money on shiny new parts, there’s really something to be said about somebody who can put together a fast car without spending a ton of cash. To then have this car turn around and be able to blow the doors off of somebody who you know blew the bank on their ride is a rather satisfying feeling.

This is why we were rather interested when the folks over at Hagerty decided to try to find the cheapest rear-wheel drive, V8-powered car that they could and strap a turbo to it. Getting the job done cheaply would be an understatement as the car was purchased for about $1000 and use the stock engine along with a relatively affordable turbo setup. When all was said and done, all in, the Lincoln that was sourced rung up a total of $4200 from intake to oil pan, fluids included.

The result, as we would see, would be a pretty impressive 400-wheel horsepower. In the scheme of things, these days where all that we see online are 1000 hp builds, 400 hp to the tires might not seem like the most potent thing on the streets but this power level is still plenty to go out there and have fun with, especially for $4200.

This time, though, we really get to see this car in action. Instead of just cruising around and having a little bit of fun, the idea was to put it to the test this time, taking the budget build down the drag strip to see exactly what it would be capable of in a quarter mile.

Unfortunately, this day at the strip wasn’t smooth sailing. Tune in with the video below to see exactly how this cheap ride held up.