Watch This V8 Smart Car Run the Quarter Mile in 9 Seconds

BOLD RIDE

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Posted by Zach Doell

 

There are cars that are meant to go very, very fast…and there are cars that simply aren’t. It doesn’t take long to figure out which category the itsy-bitsy Smart Fortwo falls in, but then again, rules are meant to be broken.

 

This 2009 Smart car started life as most do, with a tiny 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine and a taste for MPGs over MPH. Then owner Mark Cryer decided it needed more oomph, so he gave the car a custom space frame chassis, Ford nine-inch rear end, and dropped in a 462 cubic inch Chevrolet big block V8. In 2014, Cryer’s Chevy-powered Smart car ran the quarter mile drag comfortably in around 11.7 seconds.

But Cryer wanted more still, and now he’s got it. The Smart car, nicknamed “Nu Big Thing” just sprinted the quarter mile in 9.963 seconds at 133.65 miles per hour. Take a look at his showreel, below.

The Smart car now packs a gargantuan 555 cubic inch Chevy big block that chucks out a claimed 750 horsepower to the rear wheels through a Jericho four-speed transmission, which Cryer shifts between his knees.

Though the drag racing tires have been pushed to the far corner’s of the Fortwo’s chassis, Cryer’s drag car still retains the stock Smart car body work, albeit cut in places to allow certain fitments. The exhaust? That exits through the front wheel wells.

 All in all, the headlights and taillights still function, the power windows all work, as do both doors and the rear hatch…which cheekily features the “electric drive” badge from the Fortwo electric. Best not to mess with this muscle mini.