In today's old-school vs modern face-off, we have a Caddy from the late 50s taking on a 392 Hemi-powered V-8 Challenger from last year. But, there's a catch. The Caddy has gone through an engine swap and now has an LS-heart. Which car do you think is going to embarrass the other?

1959 Cadillac Eldorado CTS-V

In the red corner, we've got a 1959 (Series 62) Cadillac. While the standard mill from back in the day was rated at 325 horsepower this winged land yacht is now rocking a supercharged 6.2-Liter LSA engine swap from a 2013 Cadillac CTS-V and it now produces 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet of torque.

Obviously, the stock four-speed Hydramatic transmission can't really handle those numbers, and in its place comes a 6l90 six-speed transmission. While you got 2.94 rear gears from the factory, this example here has 3.73 rear gears, a much-needed upgrade. The Caddy, despite the engine swap tips the scales at 4,500 pounds.

2021 Dodge Challenger T/A 392 Widebody

In the modern corner, we have a car that is far more common at your local drag strip, the Dodge Challenger. The range as you know out of the box is pretty extensive and this one right here is a Challenger 392 T/A widebody.

As the name suggests, this one is rocking the famed 392 mill or 6.4-Liter HEMI V-8 that pumps out 485 ponies and 475 pound-feet of torque.} Available with either a Tremec six-speed or a Torque-flite eight-speed auto. If it is indeed the auto, then you've got 3.09 rear gear ratios on this bad boy. All things considered, the Challenger weighs 4,300 pounds.

The Race

The conditions were ideal for racing. After burning up some rubber. Both cars line up at the Christmas tree. It was GO time and both cars get a decent start off the line. However, the Challenger slowly but steadily began to pull away from the old gal and was ahead of the Caddy by a car length by the mid-way point. The T/A went on to take the win with an ET of 11.96 seconds at 113.01 mph and 12.95 seconds at 94.98 mph.

Lets Wrap It up

So the Challenger won. While its sub-12 second 1/4 mile time was great, what was even more impressive was the '59 Caddy's 12.95 seconds to complete the same distance. These things are rare as they come and to see the kind of performance you can get from an engine swap says a lot. It would have been fun to watch this relic go up against a period Lincoln, also with some kind of engine swap.