Corvette ZR1 sets new speed record

A 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, with GM President and former Holden CEO Mark Reuss at the wheel, has set a new record to become the fastest car from an American manufacturer. The caveat is that the record regards current production cars priced under US$1 million, thus excluding most of the low-volume, big-dollar supercars from the US and Europe.

On the High-Speed Oval Track at Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) in Papenburg, Germany, a team led by Reuss set a two-way average speed of 233mph (374.9km/h), making the ZR1 variant of the mid-engined, eighth-generation Corvette the fastest production car GM has ever built.

Chevrolet engineers had previously used the same facility at Papenburg to set top speeds for the sixth- and seventh-generation Corvette ZR1, as well as the sixth-generation Camaro ZL1.

Chevrolet brought two new ZR1 coupes to Germany for the speed runs. Both were unmodified production cars, powered by the standard LT7 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8. Each car was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, aluminium wheels and the ZR1 aero package with carbon fibre elements that can generate more than 544kg of downforce at maximum speed. During the timed runs at ATP, engineers deployed the ZR1’s Top Speed Mode, developed exclusively for closed course use, which adjusts chassis control systems for maximum speed.

The 233mph Reuss achieved wasn’t a fluke, with other drivers exceeding 230mph across multiple runs in both the ZR1s. Engineers were in the passenger seat for each run, including Reuss’s record setter, analysing data in real-time.

Producing 1,064hp (793kW) at 7,000rpm and 828lb/ft (1,122Nm) at 6,000rpm, the 5.5 twin-turbo engine in the 2025 Corvette ZR1 is claimed by GM to be the most powerful V8 ever produced by an American auto manufacturer, thus making the new ZR1 the most powerful factory Corvette, too. This engine is exclusive to the ZR1, with the Z06 running a naturally-aspirated version of the 5.5-litre V8. The C8 Corvette Stingray and all-new E-Ray are powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre V8; the latter adding an electric motor.

While the C8 Corvette Z06 is available in Australia, joining the regular Corvette Stingray and all-new Corvette E-Ray, there is no word from GM Specialty Vehicles on whether the ZR1 will come to the local market.