What happens when you drag race a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi and a 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS396? Most Mopar purists would root for the Hemi, although there might be some takers for the Chevy Nova SS396 too.

YouTube channel Cars and Zebras decided to put an end to all the how’s, wherefores, and what-ifs and brought on a real drag race between the two legendary muscle cars. So who will take home the win?

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Hemi Power Vs. GM L78

The 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi bears a 426 Hemi V8 rated at 425 horses, although many said unofficially, it could do a lot more. It rides with a four-speed manual transmission and has a rear gearing ratio of 3.54.

Of course, with a Hemi under the hood, the Challenger is also pretty heavy, weighing in at 4,078 lbs, with the driver. On the other hand, the Nova is lighter, coming in at 3,620 lbs with the driver. The 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS396 wears an L78 396 V8, rated at 375 horses. It runs on a three-speed automatic with a rear gearing of 4.10.

Both the muscle car darlings have their own set of fans and had people rooting for them all through the drag race, short as it is, lasting a mere seconds. But the question remains, which of these two cars, or should we say examples proved its superiority over the other one?

Related: Classic Drag Race: 1972 Dodge Demon 340 Vs 1970 Pontiac Tempest GT 37

The Drag Race Ended In A Surprise

Drag Race Between 1970 Dodge Challenger RT Hemi And 1969 Chevy Nova SS396
Via: YouTube Channel Cars And Zebras

For 1970, there were less than 300 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi made. And for 1969, a little more than 1,400 Chevy Nova SS396 sold. So is there safety in numbers?

Well, since the Nova soundly trounced the Challenger, it could certainly be so. For Round 1 of this drag race, the Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi ran at 13.56 seconds, and top speeds of 106.42 MPH. And yet, the slower Nova, at top speeds of only 87.55 MPH managed to beat the Hemi with a time of 13.23 seconds.

Round 2 showed the Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi run the quarter-mile at top speeds of 106.29 MPH, taking 13.51 seconds to do so. The Nova won again, speeding up to 94.79 MPH and running the race in 13.05 seconds.

The Hemi worshippers may have had a bit of a shocker in this drag race, but then again, sometimes a drag race is simply all about the better driver.

Source: YouTube