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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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