The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the team behind it set five new production car lap records with four General Motors Co. drivers during a tour of five U.S. tracks.
The drivers were behind the wheel of a pre-production Corvette ZR1 equipped with the optional ZTK Performance Package. The ZTK Package adds a high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood aerodynamic element — all constructed from woven carbon fiber.
Underneath the car, underbody strakes replace the standard front underwing to increase front downforce. The suspension tuning included in the ZTK package incorporates stiffer springs and adds Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZP tires.
The tracks, lap times, and drivers include:
- Watkins Glen Long Course, New York: 1:52.7, Bill Wise, lead performance engineer for chassis controls.
- Road America, Plymouth, Wisc.: 2:08.6, Brian Wallace, lead vehicle dynamics engineer.
- Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.: 1:22.8, Chris Barber, lead development engineer.
- Virginia International Raceway Full Course, Alton, Va.: 1:47.7, Aaron Link, global vehicle performance manager.
- Virginia International Raceway Grand Course, Alton, Va.: 2:32.3, Aaron Link.
“Corvette ZR1 continues to showcase how this nameplate elevates at every corner,” says Tony Roma, executive chief engineer for Corvette. “From design, engineering, development, validation, to driving and setting incredible lap records like these — we do it all in house.”
With four different drivers, each with a different driving style, Roma says the lap times “showcase the engineering prowess of the car.” Future customers, he adds, don’t need to be professional drivers to extract the “ultimate performance” of the 1,064-horsepower Corvette ZR1.
Corvette ZR1 with the ZTK Package boasts a top speed of 233 mph on the racetrack, 0-60 mph time of 2.3 seconds, and quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds, unrivaled, according to Chevrolet, by any current production car under $1 million.
Pricing for the Corvette ZR1 starts at $174,995 for the 1LZ coupe and $184,995 for the 1LZ hardtop convertible. Production is scheduled to begin at GM’s Bowling Green Assembly plant in Kentucky in the second quarter of 2025, and Chevrolet will begin accepting orders for the 2025 Corvette ZR1 later this month.
In Related News: The 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, set to go on sale by April, will pace the 67th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida on Sunday.
The Blazer EV SS, billed as the quickest SS model Chevrolet has ever produced, is equipped with Wide Open Watts (WOW), which propels the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and produces 615 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. torque. The pace car set for the Daytona 500 is a production vehicle with no performance upgrades and features custom graphics and embedded strobe lighting.
“Chevrolet has a long history with racing – it’s in our DNA – and the Blazer EV SS is a testament to that,” says Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet. “We’re excited for customers to watch the Blazer EV SS — the quickest SS we’ve ever produced — pace such an iconic race this weekend.”
The Blazer EV SS also features front Brembo brakes, a sport-tuned chassis, a best-in-class 17.7-inch-diagonal color touchscreen, standard Super Cruise driver assistance technology, and offers an EPA-estimated 303 miles of range.
This marks the first time a Blazer has paced “The Great American Race,” the first time an EV has paced the race, and the 16th time Chevrolet has led the Daytona 500 field to green.
Chevrolet will also debut its Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype ahead of the Daytona 500. The prototype represents a joint effort between NASCAR and OEM partners, with the intent of exploring new and emerging automotive technologies.
“Our Chevrolet V-8 engines continue to be an important part of NASCAR,” says Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of performance and motorsports for GM. “Racing has always been an important platform for Chevrolet to test, learn, and explore new technologies.”
