The C8 Corvette ZR1 made its formal introduction last summer, breaking cover as one of the wildest machines to ever wear the crossed flags badge. The numbers beggar belief – more than 1,000 horsepower, 0 to 60 mph time a few tenths over 2 seconds, and a top speed over 230 mph. Now, Jason Cammisa and is climbing behind the wheel and pitching the new ZR1 against a pair of Italy’s latest and greatest super cars in the following review video.
No doubt, the most impressive thing about the new Corvette ZR1 is the engine. Mounted just behind the cabin, you’ll find the twin-turbocharged 5.5L V8 LT7, a DOHC, flat-plane crank powerhouse doling out 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 828 pound-feet of torque at 6,000 rpm. According to the video, all that torque meant that GM had to upgrade the rear wheel bolt pattern to prevent the ZR1 from shearing the rear wheels under load. The onboard programming also reduces engine output in first and second gears to help maintain traction, but the C8 ZR1 still manages to complete the quarter-mile in 9.8 seconds – a record for any two-wheel drive car tested by Hagerty.
Beyond the immense power and straight-line speed, the ZR1 also handles remarkably well thanks to its mid-engine layout and advanced traction control. As pointed out, ZR1 models of the past could be somewhat difficult to control, making the C8 ZR1’s relatively driver-friendly attitude all the more impressive. It even retains some daily usability, with a large trunk and decent ride comfort, although the front trunk space is taken up by heat exchangers.
The video also looks at the C4 ZR1, C6 ZR1, and the C7 ZR1, highlighting their technological leaps and impressive capability as a means of pushing the performance envelope for America’s Sports Car.
But the question remains – how does the new C8 ZR1 perform against the Lamborghini Revuelto and Ferrari SF90 in a drag race? For that answer, you’ll have to hit play:
Comments
Hagerty is easily the best auto reviewer out there. ZR1 wins BTW 🙂
Maybe, but C&D clocked the new ZR1 @ 9.5 in the quarter.
Why would anyone down vote that?
ahhh the cars of 8 years old children
You sound poor
Not poor JEALOUS! lol don’t hate what other people love and can afford!
Oh yeah, because Navigator and Escalade comparison tests are so darn interesting. 🙄
Or “Which of these identical CUVs does Karen think is the best?” LOL.
Great car but boring to drive because of that stupid transmission. Remember the good old days when the ZR1 and Z06 only came with 3 pedals to separate the men from the boys? The guys who made the CT5-V Blackwing get it, IDK why the geriatric women designing Corvette don’t. Manual 2019 ZR1’s are bringing a hundred grand over MSRP proving Corvette owners have money to burn and still like to drive their cars.
Well, Jim, that’s simple. Keeping it automatic with the Transmission auto shifting means this vehicle, regardless of what geriatric woman is driving it, will out-shift and out-perform what any highsock, new balance wearing, car show participant with 1500 original miles can do. It’s called consistent perfection.
Porsche 911, Ferrari , yeah…. what are they thinkin. My guess is you seriously have not driven a modern car. I could go on and on with comparisons about old and new , but some people just do not listen. But do go for a test drive. You will not be disappointed.
The car was specifically engineered this way for an optimum chassis, and uses the first truly integrated transaxle. Nothing from the cabin has a direct mechanical link to the key components. In order to use a manual transmission it’d literally have to be re-engineered from scratch, which would not only take a lot of time and money but would also create an inferior vehicle. Besides, the only realistic sports car options available come only from Porsche. The Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, etc only have manumatics.
On those only matics:
Sounds like good company to me!
But what about Nürburgring. I stopped drag racing a long time ago when they shutdown all local tracks and took away Wednesday Run-What-Ya-Brung for fun. But track racing… At the reveal in August 2024 at Corvette Museum in Bowling Green KY they would not talk about the speed numbers. But what was said was that it exceeded expectations and design specs.
Just dont let Cleetus Mcfarlin drive it then you got somethen ! 😛
Super Awesome