Corvette ZR1X is EV-defying drag strip monster

A ten second car, you say? Pah - try an eight-second one

By Matt Bird / Tuesday, 13 January 2026 / Loading comments

In one of the least surprising bits of news you’ll read throughout 2026, the four-wheel drive, 1,267hp, mid-engined, twin-turbo hybrid Corvette ZR1X is very, very fast down a drag strip. Preposterously so, in fact, even in these times of outrageous EVs, very tuneable turbos and exotica like we’ve never seen before.

8.675 is the magic number, that being the ZR1X’s quarter-mile time as tested by Corvette at US 131 Motorsports Park last October. That time was on a prepared drag surface, and the initial roll out has to be factored in (0-60mph was recorded in just 1.68 seconds), but there’s no arguing with a 159mph trap speed. Or 1.75g of longitudinal acceleration - this thing is a monster.

The Corvette in question really was a stock example, too, using the regular Michelin PS4 S tyres on carbon wheels, the standard aero and plain old pump gas. The car in question, driven by Corvette engineer and test driver Stefan Frick, recorded multiple runs at less than 8.8 seconds, so that stunning 8.675 really is representative of what can be achieved. Even on unprepped tarmac, a ZR1X with the Performance Package went under nine seconds. For a series production, road-legal combustion car, that’s absolutely bonkers. One that costs just $200,000, remember, which Corvette is keen to point out is a fraction of the cost of anything else as fast (with an engine).

In fact, Corvette used the opportunity to send all the C8s down the strip, and every single one - Stingray, E-Ray, Z06, ZR1 - reached 60mph in less than three seconds. That certainly didn’t happen with every front-engined model. As GM President Mark Reuss put it: “When we made the revolutionary shift to a mid-engine platform, this is the type of performance we knew was possible.” And just imagine what might be possible once the ZR1X gets some proper fuel down its neck and a set of sticky tyres - drag racers of America may have a new hero on their hands.