Even faster Corvette on the way

There’s an even faster Corvette on the way beyond the bonkers ZR1X – could it finally be the mighty Zora?

In a recent interview with Top Gear, Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Tony Roma said the ZR1X wasn’t the end of the C8 story, merely the latest chapter. 

 “The things we’ve learned from creating the various models so far and the opportunities we have in the future with this chassis are incredible,” he said.

“The ZR1X is not the end of the story, it’s just the latest chapter. The team that works on it has a very ‘what can we do, and how can we do it?’ attitude.

“They see possibilities and not challenges.”

To recap, the ZR1X is a hardcore hybrid version of the already monstrous C8 ZR1, packing some 932kW of power and more than 1250Nm of torque courtesy an electrified twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8.

Zero-97km/h is said to take less than 2.0 seconds while the top speed is anticipated to at least be on par with the standard ZR1 (375km/h).

“Speed is only relevant these days for bragging rights,” Roma told Top Gear. “For a car to have a certain amount of provenance, we have to offer a version of that car that’s capable of doing those silly numbers.

“Having the crazy lap times and ridiculous acceleration is part of what makes these cars what they are.

“So, I think we are going to continue to make the car faster for those bragging rights, because our customers appreciate that.

“It’s the same with any performance car manufacturer – we push each other with Nürburgring lap times for that reason.”

Neither the standard ZR1 nor the ZR1X has had an official stab at a Nürburgring lap record yet, but it seems Chevy has been up to something at the Green Hell going by Roma’s next comment, and it’s abundantly clear GM isn’t thrilled about Ford having the bragging rights for American brands with its Mustang GTD.

“We’ve done some testing, and all I can say is… stay tuned,” he said. “We want to be the fastest American car – that’s an accolade we’d love to have.

“Again, it comes down to theory. None of our customers will go and run a sub-seven-minute lap time, but they want to know if they could.”

How exactly engineers plan to get more – and how much more – power out of the C8 without going fully electric remains to be see, but odds are they’ll at least turn their attention to the ZR1X’s equipment list and remove any unnecessary toys in order to reduce weight.

Even a 50kg saving can have profound on a car’s performance, both in a straight line and dynamically.

The question is, when will the European speed specialists start to sweat?

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au