The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is quicker than a Bugatti Tourbillon – with one caveat

Chevrolet was bold enough to attach the hypercar label to the Corvette ZR1X when it launched last year, claiming the track-focused hybrid was a member of the world’s most exclusive automotive club. In fairness, it did have the power to back that up – a mind-boggling, Ferrari F80-beating 1250bhp total output – and now the ZR1X has posted a set of performance figures that do indeed rival the Koenigseggs and Bugattis of the world. 

With Corvette test driver Stefan Frick at the wheel, the ZR1X has achieved a staggering 8.675sec quarter-mile time on a drag strip in Michigan, ticking off the 0-60mph in just 1.68sec in the process. To put that in perspective, the Bugatti Tourbillon hits 60mph in 1.9sec on the way to an 8.80sec quarter-mile, while Koenigsegg’s Jesko Absolut hits the same targets in 2.4sec and 8.77sec. The ZR1X is firmly in the hypercar league in terms of performance, then, and quicker than any American production car. 

It is, however, worth mentioning that the Corvette’s run was achieved on a prepped drag strip surface, which normally entails coating it with a special traction-enhancing compound to minimise wheel slip. With that said, the ZR1X used for the run was production spec, using the model’s standard aero package, optional carbonfibre wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres, while running on pump fuel. 

Its peak acceleration force was 1.75 g – more than most sports cars can achieve while cornering. Aiding this was the C8 Corvette’s Custom Launch Control system, which allows the driver to adjust the revs used for the launch, and manages wheelspin for maximum acceleration. 

On an unprepped surface and equipped with the track-focused ZTK Performance Package, Corvette quotes an 8.99sec quarter-mile and 1.89sec 0-60mph sprint for the ZR1X. Not quite Bugatti beating, but still mightily impressive for a car costing $210k in the US. 

Corvette ZR1X quarter-mile time vs hypercars

Corvette ZR1X in detail

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How does the ZR1X generate all that punch? There’s no bespoke 13,000rpm V12 to be found here; rather 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. Total power stands at 1250bhp, with 973lb ft of torque.

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.

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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.

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, it's also heavier than hypercars tend to be and is the heaviest Corvette available, at over 1800kg with fluids.

Corvette ZR1X Nürburgring time

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With a Nürburgring lap time of 6:49.275 set by dynamics engineer Drew Cattell, the ZR1X is firmly in the mix with the fastest track-focused supercars out there, beating Ford’s Mustang GTD and matching the 911 GT3 RS, but trailing the production car record holder – the AMG One – by just over 20 seconds. 

Of course, the Chevrolet differs from the AMG One in not being a bespoke, carbon-tubbed hypercar – instead it’s affirmably an ultra high-performance version of an existing sportscar, and judged as such, its time is seriously impressive. A ZTK-spec car was used for the run, with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres, carbonfibre wheels and ceramic brakes.

Ford will be seething that the Mustang GTD has been bested by three seconds, even if the ZR1X needed 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, AWD ZR1X. The Z06, with 670bhp from its naturally aspirated V8, set a time of 7:11.826.

Corvette ZR1X Nürburgring time vs rivals

The ZR1X wasn’t exactly production-spec for its Nürburgring lap, though fear not – that doesn’t mean it was 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 it was actually heavier than the cars customers will receive. The ZR1X’s time falls within the ‘prototype/pre-production’ category, as it’s not homologated for Europe. 

Nevertheless, the ZR1X is 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.