# Emelia Hartford

Emelia Hartford is a custom car builder, television host, and actress. She is most known for building one of the world's fastest custom Corvette C8s and her performance car customization YouTube channel, which launched in 2017.

## Background

Before launching her YouTube channel, Hartford juggled small acting gigs between service industry jobs. As a hobby after her work shifts, she would work on customizing her cars and occasionally chronicled her progress with posts on Instagram. Her Instagram posts eventually led to tire manufacturer Michelin inviting her to New York to launch its performance summer tire, the Pilot Sport 4S. At the Michelin event, Hartford met other car-build influencers who advised her how to create videos. Afterward, she bought her first camera and started her YouTube channel. As of March 2021, her YouTube videos had more than 72 million views.

## Film, TV, and media

Before starting her YouTube channel, Hartford took small acting roles in various films. She has continued acting and most recently can be seen in Sony's biographical sports drama Gran Turismo as 'Leah Vega' opposite Orlando Bloom, David Harbour and Archie Madekwe. From director Neill Blomkamp, the film tells the true story of a teenage Gran Turismo video game player who becomes a professional race car driver. The film opened #1 at the Box Office on August 25, 2023.
Prior to this she had a role in the 2021 Netflix film A California Christmas: City Lights. as well as credits including HBO Max's A Hollywood Christmas and the Netflix romantic comedy That's Amor. From Mexico with Love and Nightfall.
Hartford has also been a host or judge on numerous shows. She appeared on the second season of Netflix's reality TV show, Fastest Car, and was a judge on SEMA: Battle of the Builders. In June 2022, Motor Trend Group announced that Hartford would be one of the hosts of its new animated series, Super Turbo Story Time.
Hartford has appeared in media with major American automakers. In 2020, she co-starred with NBA player Devin Booker in a short film by Chevrolet for the release of the 2023 Corvette Z06. In June 2022, she appeared as a guest on the podcast of Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company.
In September of 2023, she also began co-hosting the weekly podcast Car Stories alongside co-host Sung Kang; co-star of the Fast & Furious franchise.

## Corvette C8 World Record Build

"Phoenix", Hartford's custom Corvette C8, is one of the fastest C8s in the world and once held the record for quickest C8 in the quarter-mile. In June 2021, Hartford drove the car to a 9.36-second time with a trap speed of 147 miles per hour (237 km/h) at the Famoso Raceway in Southern California during a private testing event. This result surpassed her previous record of 9.41 seconds at 144 mph (232 km/h) set in March 2021. This record was later surpassed by a custom C8 by FuelTech which finished the quarter-mile in 8.973 seconds at 160.92 miles per hour (258.98 km/h).

## Nissan Z World Record Build

After her success with the Corvette, Hartford then went on as a professional race car driver to smash the quarter-mile record for the new generation Nissan Z in December 2024. She was able to put down a time of 7.75 seconds and a top speed of 181.85 miles per hour (292.66 km/h) making her the current record holder for fastest Nissan Z in the world with a car she built in her own garage in just 57 days.