SEMA 2025: Electric-Assist Turbo Tech Boosts C7 Grand Sport

The SEMA show is an ocean of high-end custom car and truck builds, showcasing products of the booth they’re parked in, or just to show off custom paint and fabricated components. Some of the more interesting builds are the ones that utilize new products or tech that we rarely get to see in the flesh. This 2017 Corvette Grand Sport in the Race Winning Brand’s booth featured some interesting tech borrowed from the world of F1 racing: an electric-assist turbo system pumping boost to the LT under the hood.

EATs, or E-Turbos as they’re also called, aren’t exactly brand new tech. Its roots in the automotive world go back to the 1990s, with Mercedes testing the technology on Mercedes sedans for better efficiency, even though it never made it to production. Formula 1 racing, from which Race Winning Brands sourced its technology, has also utilized the system in its smaller-displacement turbocharged race cars. In recent years, some automakers like Porsche, Volvo, Mercedes, and others have started using electric-assist turbos in production cars.

The idea is actually simple: attach an electric motor to the turbine shaft and utilize it to spool the turbo up almost immediately, essentially eliminating turbo lag. In a performance application, you can harness this tech by eliminating turbo lag when using a large turbo. This gives you the best of both worlds: top-end performance from a large-frame turbo and no lag down low to create a broad torque curve.

Due to the battery and electrics for an electric-assist turbo system not needing to be nearly as large as it is for an EV or Hybrid car, the additional weight is kept to a minimum, and the added performance more than makes up for the small weight penalty. The team at Race Winning Brands, who we all know from such brands as Dart, Haltech, Boostline, Manley, etc., equipped their C7 Corvette test car with an E-turbo.

The 80,000-watt battery and control unit from New Eagle drives the paired with a 180-horsepower, 130,000rpm electric motor to spin the turbocharger instantly. Once exhaust gas pressure builds, the traditional turbo takes over, seamlessly maintaining boost without interruption. Even more impressive, it’s designed as a regenerative hybrid solution, recharging its battery pack when not actively spooling the turbo.

The 6.2-liter LT1 under the hood has been rebuilt with all Race Winning Brand goodies, including Boostline connecting rods, Wiseco pistons, PAC Racing valve springs, and Trend Performance pushrods. Without boost, the Gen V LT makes around 600 horsepower, and should be pushing close to 900 with boost. Race Winning Brands built their Corvette to do what a Grand Sport does best: tackle the race track. So stay tuned to see how testing their latest proof of concept goes.