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They say you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Well, nobody told that to streetcar builder Joe Barry, the mastermind behind a 3,000 horsepower 1956 Chevrolet hardtop hot rod. Yes, it has parachutes and wheelie-bars, but it also has Colorado state plates. It’s a street-legal drag car, aka a streetcar. Automotive photographer Larry Chen’s YouTube channel Hoonigan AutoFocus takes you through an hour-long interview on this wicked ’56 Chevy nicknamed the Creamsicle. Boy, is this one sweet ride.
Now, there is a laundry list of items that makes this car cool. Starting from the ground up, the Creamsicle uses a Jerry Bickle tube chassis. But, the 1956 Chevrolet body is all steel. There are no fiberglass or carbon fiber body panels used to save weight. According to Barry, the car tips the scale around 3,800 pounds while rocking air-ride suspension.
Underneath the glossy orange hood beats the heart of a monster that would make Dr. Frankenstein envious. A twin-turbo 598ci big-block aluminum V8 pushing out a ridiculous 3,000 horsepower allows the Creamsicle to run sixes down the quarter-mile at over 200 mph. To quote the film Two-Lane Blacktop, “Just color me gone, baby!”
Those of you familiar with the hot rod scene may recognize the name, Joe Barry. An eight-time veteran participant of Hot Rod Drag Week, which is best described by Chen as endurance drag racing. A week-long event where you drag race at one track, pack everything up, drive several hundred miles to the next track, and drag race it again.
In the AutoFocus video, Barry says the Creamsicle can manage up to 12 mpg cruising down the highway while pulling a trailer. (I doubt my truck own truck can do that). We are looking at a race car with chrome bumpers that works as a daily driver. The dream is real!
“I’m sure Chevrolet never intended for this car to go 200 mph”, said Barry in the interview. The car has not been dyno-tested, so the 3,000hp mark is a conservative estimate.
Remember, this car is built to run across several states, hauling a trailer, and make passes on a drag strip during Drag Week. However, Barry has no doubt the car could hit 3,500 hp, and that’s not considering replacing body panels with lighter materials.
The video may be an hour-long, but considering this is a long weekend, why not take a moment to learn more about Creamsicle, and drag racing?
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