Corvette ZR1X beats Ford Mustang GTD around the Nürburgring

Chevrolet is stretching the definition of hypercar, claiming the new Corvette ZR1X is a member of the world’s most exclusive automotive club. The long-awaited halo model, first rumoured to carry the name ‘Zora’ ZR1, broke cover with at least the power and performance figures to back up that claim – a mind-boggling, Ferrari F80-beating 1250bhp total output, plus acceleration to match and a quarter-mile drag time level with that of a Bugatti Chiron. Now it (and the ‘base’ ZR1) has been put to the test on the Nürburgring, to impressive if not AMG One-defeating effect.

With a lap time of 6:49.275 set by dynamics engineer Drew Cattell, the ZR1X is comfortably in the track-focused supercar club in terms of Ring performance, trailing Mercedes-AMG’s outrageous F1-engined hypercar by just over 20 seconds. Just writing that brings home exactly how impressive the Merc’s time really is. Of course, the Chevrolet differs from the AMG One in not being a bespoke, carbon-tubbed hypercar. 

It’s a Corvette, albeit with 1250bhp of hybridised V8 punch. It’s affirmably an ultra high-performance version of an existing sports/supercar and, judged as such, the Corvette’s is a stonking effort. Ford will be seething that the racetrack refugee that is the Mustang GTD has been bested by three seconds, even if it took another 400bhp to do it. The Vette is also a hair quicker (less than 0.05sec) than the current 911 GT3 RS, albeit only managing as much with over 700bhp extra. Interesting too is the fact that the ‘regular’ ZR1, which goes without the ZR1X’s electric-powered front axle, managed a time of 6:50.763 with dynamics engineer Brian Wallace at the wheel – just 1.5sec slower than the 186bhp more powerful ZR1X. A Z06, with 670bhp from its naturally aspirated V8, set a time too, of 7:11.826.

Corvette ZR1X: Nürburgring time vs rivals

The cars weren’t exactly production-spec, though fear not, that doesn’t mean they were on cut slicks with 200kg taken out. The only mods were mandated safety features – a roll hoop, a full containment race seat, six-point harnesses and a fire extinguisher. So they were actually a hair heavier than the cars customers will receive. The times also fall within the ‘prototype/pre-production’ category, as these models are not sold in Europe. All ran on the optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres, carbonfibre wheels and ceramic brakes, with their respective optional ZTK packages.

Corvette ZR1X in detail

Just as the ‘ZR1X’ name is slightly disappointing compared to the Zora rumours (expected as a tribute to legendary Corvette engineer Zora Arkus Duntov), so too is the realisation that the ZR1X only deviates from its sibling in terms of power and performance. To appearances, this is a Corvette ZR1 as we already know it, not some autoclave-baked, lathe-hewn piece of Pagani-baiting exotica.

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Of course, the benefit of this is that the ZR1X, comparatively speaking, sticks to an age-old Corvette mandate: being a bit of a bargain. Not including any dealer markups in the US, the ZR1X is expected to cost under $200k (under £150k) on its home soil. That’s McLaren W1 power and performance for the price of a Porsche 911 GTS.

So how does the Corvette ZR1X generate all that punch? Again, there’s no bespoke 13,000rpm V12 to be found here; rather there is a 1064bhp, twin-turbo, DOHC 5.5-litre LT7 V8 – a known quantity, with the largest turbos on any production car, dynamic anti-lag to maintain turbine speed and so on. But here it’s married to an enhanced version of the Corvette E-Ray’s electrified front end. 

This means an electric motor on the front axle, fed by a 1.9kWh battery in the spine of the car, with no physical connection between the combustion and electrical elements of the drivetrain. Power at the front axle is 186bhp, with 145lb ft of torque. That’s up 26bhp on the E-Ray, and it also differs in being able to plunder more of the battery’s reserves for increased track capability over more laps. Again, that total is 1250bhp with torque at 973lb ft, making the Corvette ZR1X good for 0-60mph in under 2sec (although that time starts after a US-style 1ft ‘rollout’, which would likely take another two-tenths), on the way to a sub-9sec quarter-mile time and a trap speed of 150mph – Chiron-quick.

Corvette ZR1X vs hypercars

New powertrain elements mean new ‘energy strategies’ as GM calls them. Endurance mode means you’ll get sustainable and consistent eAWD system performance for the time it takes the car to drain a tank of fuel, while Qualifying optimises the car for maximum output over one lap, presumably draining the battery. Push-to-Pass, meanwhile, gives you max power on demand – handy for quick corner-exit squirts when in Endurance mode.

Big performance means big braking hardware to claw your way down from the palpitation-inducing speeds you’ll be able to conjure. Alcon brakes are 10-piston front and six-piston rear, the fronts clamping 420mm discs. These allow the ZR1X to be good for 1.9 g of deceleration from 180mph to 120mph.

Tyres and aero are per the ZR1 with the ZTK package, the most track-focused option featuring a prominent rear wing, dive planes on the nose, gurney flaps on air extractors where the front boot used to be, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres. The ‘standard’ car is in effect a ZR1X ‘Touring’, without the aero and with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres. Chassis setups do not differ between the two.

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Is it a hypercar, though? Raw performance doth not a hypercar make, we’d hazard to suggest. That slippery slope leads to Ferrari F50s sharing Lichtensteinian bunker space with Tesla Model S Plaids. The ‘Kitchen sink’ internal nickname it’s said to have been given, relating to how the engineers basically threw everything they already had at it, best speaks to the far-from-bespoke makeup of this car beyond the standard-issue ZR1 styling. Given its relatively run-of-the-mill construction and pile of performance hardware, it's also heavier than hypercars tend to be and is the heaviest Corvette available, at over 1800kg with fluids.

But the ZR1X is nonetheless an extraordinary piece of equipment and about as much bang for your buck as it’s possible to get right now – job done, for any top-end Corvette.