The NHRA’s competition eliminator class is one of the most BangShifty zones of motorsports in the world. One of the last true unabashed places for complete mechanical creativity in the sport you see things in comp that you see nowhere else. Tiny four cylinder engines pushing lightweight cars to single digit elapsed time naturally aspirated, huge cubic inch mountain motors getting the job done, blowers, turbos, and engine platforms that you’ve never heard of in a race car populate the division. It’s among my favorite things to call at the drag races because you don’t know what’s coming around the corner next.
This video which was made several years ago at Jon Kaase Racing Engines features a 447ci Ford Boss V8 competition eliminator engine getting absolutely hammered and spun to the moon. Comp racers are typically not all that forthcoming about their engine combos and their specific power outputs because there’s some value in “having a couple of numbers” in your back pocket. Totally showing your hand is not something that lots of competition eliminator competitors ever do. Those are “break glass in case of emergency” moments and when you break the glass you better be sure there is something behind it to grab, right?
So no, we do not know what type of horsepower this engine makes but we can say with some certainly it is likely far more than 2hp per ci and likely verging on the 3hp per cubic inch zone. As you can imagine, engines like this one are not exactly free in fact just the opposite. No, competition eliminator is typically not an entry level class in the sport but it is a class where many of the greatest sportsman racers of all time have competed an won in.
Outside of horsepower numbers we would have killed to peek at the tachometer when this Ford was being pulled. Any guesses on engine speed here?
