The honor of being the 109th pace car for the Indy 500 has fallen to the 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1, The General’s ultra-powerful Vette variant that boasts a rubber-burning 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 828 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 rpm.
The 2025 Corvette ZR1 is the latest in a series of Chevy Corvette models to serve consecutively as the Indy 500 pace car, while the 2025 Chevy Silverado and 2025 Chevy Corvette Stingray are serving as Indy 500 Festival Event Vehicles.
The Corvette ZR1 follows in the footsteps of the Corvette E-Ray, as the official pace car for the 108th Indy 500, and the Corvette Z06 convertible, the pace car for the 107th running. The 106th Indianapolis 500 in 2022 was opened by a 2023 Corvette Z06 70th Anniversary Edition, while the pace cars for the 2021 and 2020 racing events were the 2021 Corvette Stingray Convertible and  2020 Corvette Stingray, respectively.
Michael Strahan, former New York Giants defensive end and current TV host, will be in the driver’s seat of the Corvette ZR1 pace car on May 25th at the opening of this year’s Indy 500. As usual, the Vette will be finished in Arctic White (color code G8G) exterior paint with a Jet Black interior, and will feature various stripes and Indianapolis 500 badges.
Scott Bell, the Bow Tie’s global vice president, said that “with a top speed of 233 mph, the Corvette ZR1 is the perfect fit to lead the Indy 500 field to green.” The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) also remarked on the swiftness of the ZR1 – “the highest top speed of any car ever made in America by an auto manufacturer.”
The IMS president J. Douglas Boles stated “we are once again excited to have the incredible American sports car Corvette pacing the field.” He added that “the distinctive sound of the Chevrolet V8 engine will echo brilliantly inside the walls of IMS.” In addition to its scorching top speed, the Corvette ZR1 can rocket from a standstill to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds – and can cost almost $250K with all options equipped.
Following the official announcement, Team Chevy remarked in an Instagram post that there is “no better way to lead the Indy 500 field than with the imposing Corvette ZR1.” Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments
At 1064 HP and 220mph, let er rip. How about a couple demonstration laps, for publicity…
OK now. So there’s the tool, so lets put a full roll cage in it and some race tires on it, and put an experienced race car driver in it, -and lets see those open wheeled racers actually have to concentrate on driving when the pace car’s out there. -No more falling asleep following a pretender! I’d love to see a pile up back in the pack while the pace car’s still out there. -That would raise some eyebrows! Let’s not have any speed limits on the pace car!
That is a beautiful and fast sports car. A little pricey also.
Pretty impressive I must say…so what do ‘ya think, for the next Indy 500 Pace Car Edition, we might be seeing could be the (still an out in the open secret) “Zora” model of the Mighty C8?
Seems only naturally progressive to use this version of the C8 on the Indy Race Track once again as an Omage to Zora himself! Just thinking ahead here, it would be without a doubt the most celebrated Corvette to run the Indy track, EVER! Couldn’t pass up a chance like that, right GM! The publicity for Chevrolet/Corvette would priceless and well earned.
I WANT ONE!!!