Latest news with #KeithBadgley
Motor 1
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
The ZR1X Is the Fastest Corvette Ever. Chevy Tells Us How It Happened
Corvette engineers first uttered the phrase "King of the Hill" internally in the mid-1980s. Their majesty was a 1990 ZR1—that's a 32-valve, 375-horsepower V-8 designed by the GM-owned Lotus Division and built in Oklahoma by Mercury Marine. It first drew Ferrari comparisons to a sports car that had pissed away much of the '70s and '80s, mired in bureaucratic muck and rattletrap complacency. That ZR1, with its ZF six-speed manual, dashed to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and a 175-mph top speed. The King of the Hill name stuck. Thirty-five years hence, it describes a turbocharged 2025 ZR1 with nearly three times the horsepower, at 1,064. America's New Hypercar 'America's Hypercar:' The New Chevy Corvette ZR1X Aims to Take Down Ferrari Still not enough. Say hello to the 2026 ZR1X, or the 'NotZora.' However you address it, the all-wheel-drive, electrified ZR1X may spark the latest War of the Roses among loyal Corvette subjects. You know, the folks who grab pitchforks over engine layouts, pushrods, or pop-up headlights. The reductive take, sure to be favored by YouTubers, is that the ZR1X's 1,250 hybrid hp is better than 1,064. A sub-2-second acid trip to 60 mph is objectively faster than 2.2 seconds. Even the title Chevy bestowed on the ZR1X, "America's Hypercar," suggests the King ZR1 is demoted to mere supercar—the Marquis of Motown, perhaps. But Keith Badgley, the ZR1X's lead development engineer, explains why these cars can comfortably share a throne—without sticking a knife in each other's sales. "Yeah, we like using the term 'America's Hypercar' because that set the standard for what the ZR1X needed to be," Badgley says. The ZR1s, he says, feel fundamentally different on street or track. Photo by: Chevrolet "All-wheel-drive versus rear-drive gives you two very different feels with the balance of the car, and how we're supporting you as you go into corner entry," he says. "The (driven) front axle is so quick, you can get right back onto throttle. We think the ZR1X is going to give greater confidence to the driver." That does sound interesting and helpful, including for owners whose skills might frankly be overwhelmed by four-digit horsepower through rear wheels alone. But at the risk of looking a gift horsepower in the mouth, why now? Chevy will soon begin taking orders for the ZR1X. Why not let the ZR1 enjoy its public acclaim and range-topping status for at least a year before adding a direct competitor for the wealthiest Corvette buyers or collectors? Those prospects now have a decision to make, unless they settle it with one of each. Photo by: Chevrolet 'Yeah, we like using the term 'America's Hypercar' because that set the standard for what the ZR1X needed to be.' Badgley says these siblings' closely aligned births became nearly inevitable from the moment of conception. The C8 was famously designed from the start to support electrified all-wheel-drive versions, including room for 1.9 kilowatt hours of pouch batteries in its coffin-shaped central tunnel. A ZR1X 'was always part of that plan' that began nearly a decade ago, Badgley affirms. The E-Ray went first, and it provided a technical basis for the hypercar. "We saw the capability of the E-Ray and how we could take advantage of it," Badgeey says. "The design and structure of the ZR1s were always being designed to handle performance at the pinnacle." Photo by: Chevrolet Photo by: Chevrolet Recognizing the Corvette's high-voltage battery pack as a critical heart of performance, GM created an in-house team for its power electronics. "That was very rare," Badgley says. "We didn't do that with previous products, and we're not doing it with other products." As Chevrolet developed the Z06's LT6 V-8, the twin-turbocharged Gemini LT7 was also proceeding to serve the ZR1s. That included the 'maniturbo' that combines a turbocharger and exhaust manifold, unique engine castings, pistons, and titanium connecting rods with a jaw-dropping lightness I feel for myself in a garage at Circuit of the Americas during a thrilling ZR1 drive. Photo by: Chevrolet 'We saw the capability of the E-Ray and how we could take advantage of it. The design and structure of the ZR1s were always being designed to handle performance at the pinnacle.' Rather than parallel and separate development tracks, think of Corvette engineering teams as more like DNA strands, their genetic data informing and cross-pollinating the whole. For one, Chevrolet created a core development team exclusively for all-wheel drive. Using the E-Ray as a test bed, they applied those learnings to push every boundary of the ZR1X—enough to confidently take on seven-figure models like the Ferrari F80 and McLaren W1. "We intentionally kept that core of intelligence together," Badgley says. Photo by: Chevrolet The ZR1X, Badgley says, helped validate key metrics for a ZR1 that went to showrooms first. That includes a shared aero program for design efficiencies and commonalities in manufacturing; The models can share an assembly line in Kentucky, allowing Chevrolet to instantly adjust production based on customer orders. Credit the ZR1X for a shared, optional carbon-fiber wheel whose performance bandwidth was assured by a 'higher-load program' for the heavier AWD car. "Otherwise, we would have had to spend time validating the ZR1 loads and then validating again for the ZR1X," Badgley says. "So even though there's a ZR1 team and a ZR1X team, we're dealing with the same problems, helping each other to solve them and make these two great cars come together." The ZR1 upsized the Z06's brakes, but deceleration requirements for the more-powerful ZR1X demanded a clean-sheet solution. The largest brakes in GM history feature 10-piston front calipers, ridiculous 16.5-inch rotors front and rear, and new continuously woven carbon-fiber brake discs. During ZR1X development at the Nürburgring, engineers clocked a stunning 1.9 g's of deceleration at the Tiergarten corner, a wicked-technical right-hand sweeper near a lap's end that saw test drivers shed speed from 180 to 120 mph. Photo by: Chevrolet Badgley says the 'Vette's most-resilient brake discs in history survived 2,500 miles of brutal track testing—on four cars, more than 600 miles per car—without a brake change. The ZR1X will bequeath that standard "J59" brake package to the ZR1, which adopts it as an option for 2026. ZR1X trickle-down will even benefit the entire family. Every 2026 Corvette gets the new PTM Pro traction manager, designed with ZR1X in mind. For daring types, it offers easy screen access to turn off traction and stability control, while maintaining launch control functions. For the ZR1X, PTM Pro also keeps brake-based torque vectoring active, actively managing inside-front braking for maximum traction while exiting corners. The ZR1X is on schedule to arrive by Christmas, ideally wrapped in a Corvette-red bow for good boys and girls. Badgley says the teams are still tinkering, trying to unlock more speed. That includes a quarter-mile that the ZR1X dispatched in less than 9 seconds just a few weeks ago, on a prepped surface at US 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. Corvette fans may argue about the line of succession. But in a straight line at least, the all-wheel-drive ZR1X will wear the undisputed Corvette crown. "We're actually looking to see how much below nine seconds we can get, so we're excited for that," he says. Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
UPI
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- UPI
Fastest-ever 2026 Corvette is a twin-turbo hybrid hypercar
A 2026 "blade-silver" Corvette ZR1X and "Sebring-orange" Corvette ZR1X convertible are among the fastest and costliest Corvettes ever built. Photo courtesy of Chevrolet June 17 (UPI) -- The 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X sets a new performance standard with a twin-turbo hybrid motor that delivers 1,250 HP and a top speed exceeding 230 mph. The all-wheel-drive sports car debuted on Tuesday and is the most expensive Corvette ever made with an anticipated retail price starting at $250,000. The twin-turbocharged motor produces 1,064 horsepower, and the electric AWD adds another 186 HP, with a regenerative energy system powering the about 4,000-pound hypercar, the Detroit Free Press reported. Its 5.5-liter LT7 V8 produces up to 828 pound-feet of torque that increases to 973 pound-feet when the AWD is running. An eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission delivers the power to all four wheels using Corvette's E-Ray hybrid technology. The mid-engine hypercar can go from 0-60 mph in less than 2 seconds and cover the quarter mile in less than 9 seconds with a top speed exceeding 150 mph. The AWD smooths out the power delivery for less wear and tear on the rear axle and better handling while turning. "You'll feel that coming out of every corner, the car clawing you out," ZR1X lead development engineer Keith Badgley told Motor1. Corvette's 2024 hybrid E-Ray created the platform for the ZRX1 with a 6.2-liter V8 engine with an electric motor, although the new Corvette has a slightly smaller motor that delivers more power. "We saw the capability of the E-Ray and how we could take advantage of it," Badgley told Motor1. "The design and structure of the ZR1s were always being designed to handle performance at the pinnacle." Chevrolet is building the ZR1X at its Bowling Green, Ky., plant, and a final selling price will be announced later this year. The 2025 ZR1 is Corvette's costliest current-production model with a $175,000 starting point that goes up with additional goodies added. The retail price is typically much lower than the actual selling price. Chevrolet dealer and NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Rick Hendrick last year paid $3.7 million for a 2025 ZR1, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Corvette ZR1X's Quarter-Mile Sprint Is So Quick, Chevy Had to Reprogram Its Front Motor
When the Corvette team went about adding the front motor from the Corvette E-Ray to the ZR1 to create the ZR1X, it was no simple feat. First, they turned up the output to 186 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque, increases of 26 hp and 20 lb-ft. Then, they went through all the calibration to make it work seamlessly with the LT7 V-8. And that's where things got interesting. The twin-turbo 5.5-liter in the ZR1 makes 1064 horsepower, more than twice that of the 495-hp LT2 in the E-Ray. 'We knew we were going to have to push all the boundaries,' said lead development engineer Keith Badgley. 'Looking at the fact that we're taking this 5.5-liter turbo V-8 with all kinds of power, and then combining it with a separate drivetrain on the front, meant that this had to be the most sophisticated software that GM had developed. Especially to make it approachable and intuitive.' It's so powerful that it revealed a limitation in the standard programming of the electric front axle motor. On the drag strip, 'We saw that we were disconnecting the front axle at 150 miles an hour from the E-Ray, and that that was not enough for us to complete the run in the quarter mile,' said Badgely. 'So we expanded and raised that to a 160-mph disconnect to bring that performance all the way through.' That's with the standard ZR1 body, not the Carbon Fiber Aero kit that's best paired with the ZTK suspension package. Chevy didn't say how much slower that version would be in the quarter than the sub-9-second, greater than 150-mph time stated in the ZR1X's press release. But it's a non-zero difference, says Josh Holder, the Corvette's chief engineer. 'It's pretty incredible that these cars are going so fast at the end of the quarter mile that our aero was starting to influence the times.' As for the intuitive and approachable part, that too required a more-than-expected amount of adjustment. 'The journey of the software, we originally thought we would port over or learn from the E-Ray, and we did learn but immediately saw that the Gemini engine has so much power that even minor errors in our torque architecture were causing issues with traction and an intervention that was unnecessary,' said Badgley. That's not unexpected when you're starting from a baseline of 828 pound-feet of torque, with more than 800 of that available from 3000 rpm. What's wild, though, is the speeds at which the ZR1X was breaking the tires loose. 'We saw that at 160 miles per hour we were having so much power we were deflecting the rear wheels, causing these errors.' As stated, the Corvette engineers smoothed things out so that the ZR1X presumably won't trip the traction control at that speed. It's yet another example of the performance era we live in. Not only is there a Corvette with 1250 horsepower, it's strong enough to spin the tires at 160 — and modern software can tame those bad habits, and make such a wild beast Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Top Gear
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Be afraid: this is the Corvette ZR1X and it gets a mind-melting 1,250bhp
Be afraid: this is the Corvette ZR1X and it gets a mind-melting 1,250bhp The hyper-Vette rumours were true: V8 twin turbo plus e-motor equals a quarter-mile in under nine seconds Skip 10 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. 1 / 10 A Corvette with 1,250bhp. Not a drag strip special, but a production model. It turns out the 1,064bhp ZR1 wasn't the final boss. Meet the ZR1X – the long-rumoured hyper-Corvette the internet has previously known as 'Zora' – which combines the ZR1's 5.5-litre, twin turbo V8 with the electric motor and hybrid system from the Corvette E-Ray. Advertisement - Page continues below Combined power stands at 1,250bhp. Driving through all four wheels 0-60mph is expected to take less than 2.0 seconds, with the quarter mile dispatched in under 9.0s at a peak speed of over 150mph. Just to be clear, this gives it more power and better claimed acceleration than the 1,183bhp, 2.15s-to-62mph Ferrari F80. Which costs £3.1 million. The ZR1X is not a limited run car, though. It'll be a full production model sold alongside the rest of the Corvette line-up when it goes on sale later this year. Nor is it an afterthought. According to lead development engineer Keith Badgley: 'It was always part of the C8 plan. We kind of joked about it as our 'kitchen sink car' because we threw everything at it. It was the hypercar we wanted to bring to fruition.' While the ZR1's twin-turbo V8 has been carried over largely unmodified, the E-Ray's hybrid has been uprated. 'The battery is the same, but we've pushed the architecture so we can use 26 per cent more capacity,' said Badgley. The single electric motor on the front axle now develops an additional 26bhp and 20lb ft over the E-Ray with outputs of 186bhp and 145lb ft. While the motor sits on the front axle, the 1.9kWh battery and power electronics are sited in the transmission tunnel. It decouples above 160mph, reverting to combustion only for higher speeds. All told the system adds around 115kg of weight to the ZR1, so expect a claimed dry weight of around 1,780kg. Advertisement - Page continues below This puts it in a significantly heavier weight bracket than cars such as the 1,525kg F80 and McLaren's 1,400kg, 1,250bhp W1. Traction means it might be able to match them to 60 or 70mph, but above that – and round a track – the Europeans should enjoy a chunky advantage. Corvette isn't prescriptive about what the ZR1X is for, saying it's aimed at road use more than track use, but has been designed to cope with both. Not many public places you can take it and enjoy more than three seconds of flat-out acceleration, seeing as the ZR1X will be capable of 1.3g peak acceleration and be able to sustain over 1g through third gear. Makes you wonder about the brakes, doesn't it? On paper those are exceptional. 420mm carbon ceramic discs constructed from continuously woven carbon threads and gripped by 10-piston Alcon calipers. Testing at the Nurburgring they achieved 1.9g deceleration from 180-120mph at Tiergarten. Looking for more from the USA? READ THE LATEST USA NEWS Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email* As with the ZR1, the ZR1X will come in two guises – standard offers a smaller rear wing and Michelin PS4S tyres for a 233mph+ top speed (it's unlikely to have a higher max than the regular ZR1 because of the extra weight), while the ZTK package brings more downforce courtesy of the giant rear wing and Michelin Cup2R rubber. It'll be available as both coupe and convertible. No word on price yet, but let's guess a $25,000 (£18,500) uplift over the $174,995 (£129,000) ZR1. It might not be priced to rival European exotica, but it has got the performance. Enough to turn this Corvette into a genuine hypercar?
