- We recently re-tested a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X, and this one was every bit as quick as Chevy claims: zero to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 8.9 seconds at 155 mph.
- This is 0.3 second quicker in both metrics than our first test, where Corvette engineers blamed a dusty surface for its less-than-record-breaking numbers.
- This definitely makes the ZR1X the quickest car we’ve ever tested—the first to get to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds and the first to break the 9.0-second mark in the quarter-mile.
Welcome to Car and Driver’s Testing Hub, where we zoom in on the test numbers. We’ve been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to bolster our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here).
Just when we thought the future of acceleration records was tipping permanently toward EVs, the Corvette’s twin-turbo flat-plane-crank V-8 snatches back a win for internal combustion. Well, at least majority gas-powered, as 1064 of its 1250 total horsepower comes from the V-8, with the balance coming from the front electric motor that enables it to leap off the line quicker than the gas-only ZR1.
Chevy sent us the exact same ZR1X that we tested back in February in California, with its carbon-fiber wheels wrapped in a fresh set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires for another go, this time at our Michigan test location, which we often find has more grip when it comes to getting mega-horsepower cars to hook up. And hooked up it was on an early summer day in the mid-70s before the sun had too much time to scorch the pavement.
Getting this much power to the ground requires a cacophony of factors to be in the right zone: tire pressures and temperatures, battery and engine temperature, surface conditions, and on and on. We kept dialing the adjustable launch control up and up until we landed in the most aggressive 3500-rpm setting, where the ZR1X laid down the quickest two runs—all of our results are an average of a run in each direction—that our test gear has ever witnessed. In fact, the launch felt so hooked up that the burnout Chevy recommends to clean and warm the rear tires between each run—pull both paddles, release one and pull again, then floor it and release the paddles—could barely get the tires to spin.
When the dust settled, and the 110-decibel wail of the most potent small-block V-8 ever subsided, the data put the zero-to-60-mph time at 1.8 seconds, the first car to do so, and 0.1 second ahead of the Lucid Air Sapphire and Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. The super Vette’s quarter-mile time is another record: 8.9 seconds at 155 mph, the first production car we’ve tested to get into the eights. That leaps ahead of the previous record holders, the 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and 2026 Lucid Air Sapphire, which both went 1320 feet in 9.1 seconds.
Interestingly, this time the ZR1X, fully kitted out with the ZTK Performance package and giant rear wing, was in its street-alignment settings rather than the aggressive track alignment. Nevertheless, around the 300-foot-diameter skidpad, the ZR1X averaged 1.14 g, a mere 0.01 g less than the previous test in track alignment. Possibly due to the tires oriented more squarely, braking was fractionally improved this time around as well, stopping from 70 mph in a scant 135 feet and from 100 mph in 267 feet, improvements of four and six feet, respectively.
The first car to accelerate to 60 mph in 1.8 seconds and quicker than a $4.3 million Bugatti Chiron in the quarter, the C8 Corvette continues to cement its place in history.
Specifications
2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X Vehicle Type: mid-engine, front-motor, all-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door targa
Price
Base/As Tested: $212,195/$255,960
Options: Carbon-fiber wheels, $13,995; 3LZ package (heated steering wheel, leather interior, Bose Performance Series stereo, power lumbar seats, front and rear cameras, two inductive phone chargers, power-folding and heated mirrors, heated and vented GT2 seats), $11,000; ZR1X Carbon Fiber Aero package (visible carbon-fiber wing, dive planes, and hood spoiler), $10,495; front-axle lift, $2595; ZTK Track Performance package (ZTK suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires), $1500; carbon-fiber interior trim, $1500; body-color carbon-fiber split-window trim, $995; blue brake calipers, $695; Stealth interior trim package, $595; black exhaust tips, $395
Powertrain
Twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 5.5-liter V-8, 1064 hp, 828 lb-ft + AC motor, 186 hp, 145 lb-ft (combined output: 1250 hp; lithium-ion battery pack) Transmissions: direct-drive/8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Chassis
Suspension, F/R: control arms/control arms Brakes, F/R: 16.5-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc/16.5-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZP
- F: 275/30ZR-20 (97Y) TPC Spec 3124
- R: 345/25ZR-21 (104Y) TPC Spec 4033
Dimensions
Wheelbase: 107.2 in Length: 186.7 in Width: 79.7 in Height: 48.6 in Passenger Volume: 51 ft³
