Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Test Numbers Through the Years

Car and Driver

3 days ago

The 1064-hp 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is here, and we've got all the instrumented numbers.
How do the Corvette ZR1s of the past compare to the new ZR1's 2.2-second time to 60 mph and sub-10-second quarter-mile time?
Here are all the straight-line, roadholding, and instrumented-testing results for each ZR1 generation.
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).
We, and only we, have the full instrumented test numbers for the C8-generation ZR1. As impressive as they are, it occurred to us that comparing them to the ZR1s of the past helps to put the numbers into perspective. So we're taking a look at how much the ZR1's acceleration, roadholding, and braking figures have improved over the fourth-generation (C4) ZR-1, the sixth-generation (C6) ZR1, and the seventh-generation (C7) ZR1. In case you're wondering, the ultra-rare early-'70s C3 ZR-1 eluded us when it came time to strap on the test equipment.
C4 ZR-1
Tom Drew
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Car and Driver
Even by modern standards, the original 375-hp Corvette ZR-1 is still a very quick car. Although it had massive Goodyear Gatorbacks at every corner, tire technology has advanced since the early 1990s. Accelerating to 60 mph took just 4.5 seconds, and 100 mph arrived in 10.4 seconds. The quarter-mile fell in 12.8 seconds at 111 mph. Braking from 70 mph to zero required 170 feet. The C4 ZR-1 managed 0.89 g on a 300-ft skidpad—commendable for the time, of course, but lagging considerably behind modern counterparts.
But before the C4 Corvette gave way to the introduction of the C5, Chevy's engineers cooked up an even more powerful ZR-1. The 1993 car bumped the horsepower figure up to 405 and the torque figure up to 385 pound-feet at 5200 rpm. Despite the extra power on paper, the updated C4 ZR-1 took 4.7 seconds to reach 60 mph in our testing, though, at the time, editor John Phillips chalked up the original's time as "mostly testimony to the unpredictable tolerance with which MerCruiser tended to assemble engines."
C6 ZR1
Rich Chenet
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Car and Driver
Corvette historians know that there was no fifth-generation (C5) ZR1. With 638 horsepower available from its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, C6 ZR1 times to 60 mph dropped to a still-amazing 3.4. The 100-mph sprint took just 7.6 seconds, and the quarter-mile was gone in 11.5 seconds at 128 mph. The other numbers remain impressive today. Stopping from 70 mph took just 142 feet in our 2009 test car, and lateral acceleration jumped up to 1.07 g's on the skidpad.
C7 ZR1
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
If the C6 ZR-1's test results were eye-opening, the C7 ZR-1's were otherworldly: hitting a mile a minute in 2.9 seconds, 100 mph in 6.0, and the quarter-mile in 10.7 at 135 mph. The stop matched the go. Despite weighing 321 pounds more than the previous generation, the C7 ZR1 stopped seven feet shorter from 70 mph than its predecessor. On the skidpad, wearing the optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 ZPs, we recorded 1.18 g's, which, spoiler alert, is more than the new ZR1 could manage. It's also more than the 1.16 g's we achieved with the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and its Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.
C8 ZR1
Michael Simari
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Car and Driver
It's been said that the electric car has won the acceleration war, but the ZR1's 2.2-second time to 60 mph is proof that the gas-burning car can still issue a challenge. The rate of acceleration barely drops off as you approach triple digits, with 100 mph coming in 4.5 seconds. The standing quarter-mile passes in 9.5 seconds at 149 mph. Braking from 70 mph takes a few extra feet compared with the C7 and requires 140 feet, while lateral grip was similarly reduced at 1.13 g's. Comparing acceleration to the original ZR1, it took the 1990 car nearly a minute to reach 150 mph, and the C8 ZR1 just 23.8 seconds to hit 200 mph. And while the C4 had a top speed of 175 mph, the new version barrels its way to a whopping 233 mph. Top speed drops a hair to 225 mph for C8s with the high-downforce aero package.
To put the new ZR1's figures into the context of another statistical behemoth, we'll compare it with the 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport. Despite being down two driven wheels, a drag race between the two would see the Corvette sticking neck-and-neck with the Bugatti through 60 mph. As the speeds increase, the Chiron's extra 500 or so horsepower makes itself known, ushering the Bugatti to 100 mph in 4.1 seconds, 150 mph in 8.0 flat, and through the quarter-mile in 9.1 at 161 mph. Still, at a discount of more than $4 million compared with the Bugatti, the Chevrolet is looking awfully appealing.
Jack Fitzgerald
Associate News Editor
Jack Fitzgerald's love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn't afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. Read full bio