Thursday 14th June 2018

212mph ZR1 (officially) the quickest Corvette ever

Just in case there was ever any doubt, Chevrolet found somewhere to try out its top speed boast...

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The last time we saw the Corvette ZR1 it was merrily shredding the Ford GT's laptime at the Virginia International Raceway. Now Chevrolet has the car in Germany, at the proving ground in Papenburg. Why? Well, because there's a 12.3km high speed oval there - which is ideal for authenticating the top speed of your 755hp supercar.

Of course the manufacturer has described the ZR1 as a 210mph car since its launch and while no-one ever had a reason to question that number (did we mention it's got 715lb ft of torque, as well?) clearly someone decided it was time to see what the two-run average actually was for 'The King'.

And guess what? It's pretty high, hitting a wind-assisted 214.88mph heading south and then 210.20 going north. According to its maker, the 212mph average makes it the fastest production Corvette ever, and is in fact the same top speed claimed for the 720S by McLaren.

No word from Chevrolet regarding the test car's precise spec (although clearly it's the automatic version rather than the seven-speed manual) but no matter. We'll assume the ZR1 was in vaguely off-the-shelf condition. We'll assume too that the surface of Papenburg's oval is very well laid because 212mph at Bruntingthorpe would surely not look quite so serene...

 

[Burwood]

110mph at 2400 rpm. Mashes the pedal and hits 150 in 7 sec. Shame no RHD

[Alpinestars]

Would love one of these. Ditto re RHD.

[unsprung]

fabulous video

sadly, the ZR1 won't be sold at all in Europe -- those EU specifications for pedestrian impact

and unfortunately production in RHD would be a failure; read further if you've got insomnia

=

in the most generous scenario UK punters might buy, say, 20 units

this 212mph ZR1 will retail for $120,000 in its domestic market; that's a 50 percent increase over the Z06 -- say it with me : zee oh six

in Europe* 138 units of the Z06 were sold for model year 2017 (and, by the way, the US figure was 6,272)

the preceding figure is but 31 percent of "regular" Corvettes sold in Europe for 2017 (total Stingray + Grand Sport was 444 units); the equivalent US figure, by the way, was 23,285

if this "step down" rate of 31 percent will be merely sustained for the new ZR1 (ie: 138 units of the Z06 x 0.31), we are left with a sales projection of 43 units of the ZR1 sold in all of Europe



*in this definition, Europe includes the UK; GM published no separate figures by EU/European country

Edited by unsprung on Thursday 14th June 21:01

[bullittmcqueen]

unsprung said:

fabulous video

sadly, the ZR1 won't be sold at all in Europe -- those EU specifications for pedestrian impact

and unfortunately production in RHD would be a failure; read further if you've got insomnia

=

in the most generous scenario UK punters might buy, say, 20 units

this 212mph ZR1 will retail for $120,000 in its domestic market; that's a 50 percent increase over the Z06 -- say it with me : zee oh six

in Europe* 138 units of the Z06 were sold for model year 2017 (and, by the way, the US figure was 6,272)

the preceding figure is but 31 percent of "regular" Corvettes sold in Europe for 2017 (total Stingray + Grand Sport was 444 units); the equivalent US figure, by the way, was 23,285

if this "step down" rate of 31 percent will be merely sustained for the new ZR1 (ie: 138 units of the Z06 x 0.31), we are left with a sales projection of 43 units of the ZR1 sold in all of Europe



*in this definition, Europe includes the UK; GM published no separate figures by EU/European country

Edited by unsprung on Thursday 14th June 21:01

Cool run down of numbers, thx. Almost scary, one has to be grateful for each and every one sold. These things are a dying breed.

But can confirm this. Have seen all in all 2 (two) C7 so far. Oth, i am seeing shiploads of Mustangs rumbling around.

[Mogul]

Burwood said:

110mph at 2400 rpm. Mashes the pedal and hits 150 in 7 sec. Shame no RHD

You missed the bit about dropping form 8th to 4th, but still mighty impressive!

[howardhughes]

I beg to differ...Callaway Corvette Sledgehammer

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/callaway-sl...

[Robatr0n]

howardhughes said:

I beg to differ...Callaway Corvette Sledgehammer

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/callaway-sl...

The article says fastest production Corvette.

[Gandahar]

Not at Le Mans though it seems

[Robatr0n]

swerni said:

Robatr0n said:

howardhughes said:

I beg to differ...Callaway Corvette Sledgehammer

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/callaway-sl...

The article says fastest production Corvette.

Hush with your facts!
Wonder how it compared to the Z06?

I owned the C6 Z06 and drove the ZR1 at Goodwood,
While the ZR1was faster, it was like a pussy cat compared to the brutal power delivery of the Z06

I remember reading an article when the C6 ZR1 was first launched stating just how quick it was but it didn't relate well on track. After a few laps it apparently suffered massively from heat soak whereas a breathed on Z06 (same power as yours I think?) put in a workman like effort lap after lap and felt much better to drive.

[shaunsmith]

Would it be possible to import one from the US then register and use it in the Uk/Europe?

[mk2 24v]

How much quicker would the manual version have been?
Or would the gear ratios be similar to the auto and not achieve max rpm in top gear

[unsprung]

swerni said:

shaunsmith said:

Would it be possible to import one from the US then register and use it in the Uk/Europe?

No reason why not.

interesting; sounds good

so... although OEM importation and sale is prohibited due to pedestrian impact requirement (see my original post above), the personal importation and use of this very same vehicle is allowed?

[irocfan]

look at the multitude of US vehicles over here already....

[dzernski]

Get it through an Iva and it should be fine.

[Gecko1978]

re sva etc sonthe camero ZL1 LT could that be same i.e. personal import would all a bumper like that etc

[Burwood]

swerni said:

unsprung said:

swerni said:

shaunsmith said:

Would it be possible to import one from the US then register and use it in the Uk/Europe?

No reason why not.

interesting; sounds good

so... although OEM importation and sale is prohibited due to pedestrian impact requirement (see my original post above), the personal importation and use of this very same vehicle is allowed?

I’ve had serval US cars and have had friends who have bought cars over that no manufacturer could ever officially import.
Just need an IVA or SVA ( or what ever it’s called these days )

and a lot of money for this one. I expect it to have large premiums. GBP 150k probably