- ‘Murica! Chevy claims its ’25 Corvette ZR1 is faster than anything else under a million bucks
- A vmax of 230-plus mph (370 km/h) was achieved multiple times during testing
- That makes the 1,064-hp Corvette ZR1 the fastest car even from a mainstream American automaker
Punching way above its weight class has long been a Chevrolet Corvette trademark. Now, the machine which appears atop the list when one plugs the term “America’s Supercar” in a Google search adds another achievement to its trophy cabinet: a blazing top speed.
How blazing? Try 233 miles per hour, which works out to a hair under 373 km/h in Roman Catholic. That’s the speed achieved by the ZR1 testing crew when they hauled a 2025 Corvette ZR1 to a track in Germany, cementing the car as the fastest car ever built by a mainstream American auto manufacturer. The feat wasn’t a stroke of luck, with no fewer than five engineers and both ZR1 development cars on-site exceeding 230 mph across multiple runs.
Behind the wheel was none other than GM President Mark Reuss, who drove the ZR1 on its 233-mph run, setting a top speed record which General Motors says outstrips any current production car priced under US$1 million.
“Setting the top-speed record in the Corvette ZR1 is a true triumph for Corvette and for Chevrolet, and also an exhilarating, surreal experience for me personally,” said Reuss. “With the current generation’s switch to mid-engine, we knew the outstanding performance and balance made this a real possibility.”
The ZR1 coupe which set the record had a standard chassis and aero package, plus a standard spoiler with short wicker, carbon-fiber ground effects, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, and aluminum wheels. Chevrolet engineers also developed Top Speed Mode, exclusively for use on a closed course, a setting which apparently adjusts chassis control systems for maximum speed.
In case you’ve forgotten, the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is powered by a 5.5L twin-turbo V8 with a flat-plane crank making a psychotic 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. GM claims a sub-10-second quarter-mile time in the right hands, with a carbon-fibre aero package allegedly capable of creating over 1,200 pounds of down-force at vmax. And, yes, that is a split rear window (of sorts) on the ZR1 taking care of extra cooling duties.
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