VIDEO: Corvette ZR1 posts 205 mph top speed
General Motors, Chevrolet and the Corvette team are clearly proud of the power ratings they just announced for the Corvette ZR1. With its LS9 V8 producing 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque, you would expect the most powerful Corvette ever to be the fastest as well. And you'd be right. On its GMNext website, GM has revealed that its taken the ZR1 all the way up to 205 mph at its test track in Papenburg, Germany. And they had a video camera on board to capture the moment. The sense of speed is incredible, and even we got excited when the ZR1 climbed the banked oval and made other vehicles track testing that day look like stationary objects. Keep your eye on the digital speedometer in the bottom center of the video and watch as the ZR1 is still pulling strongly above 180 mph.
We remember a time when the Ferrari F40 and Lamborghini Diablo were battling for the title of World's Fastest Production Car, and the Diablo narrowly beat out the F40 by claiming a top speed of 204 mph. Now we have a Chevy that can go 205 mph. What a wonderful world.
[Source: GMNext]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Fasternu426 @ Apr 25th 2008 12:05PM
Well.... color me impressed! Does it have a cupholder to hold my drool bucket??
Torrent @ Apr 25th 2008 1:50PM
Who in the heck needs to go 205 MPH? And who needs 638 Hp!!??
Oh yeah, me.
TwinTurbo3000GT @ Apr 25th 2008 3:28PM
man that's f***in crazy. notice the driver looking down at the clock every so often...screw that. My eyes would be glue'd to the road. at 205mph, taking your eyes off the road for 1 second, means you just drove one football field without looking where you're going. freaking scary man.
Mr. Oak @ Apr 25th 2008 3:48PM
TwinTurbo3000GT: At 155mph a car travels the length of 3 football fields per second. Add another 50mph, and that would be 4 football fields per second.
...and yes I agree with everything else that you said.
Fasternu426 @ Apr 25th 2008 3:54PM
TwinTurbo3000GT
"freaking scary man."
Yeah, but the good kind of scary!! :)
Dan @ Apr 25th 2008 4:02PM
Mr. Oak -- I hope you're not on the GM engineering team. 205 MPH is exactly 300 feet per second, or 1 football field per second.
TT3KGT wins the math round.
But I have to say, I've never been a 'Vette guy, but the sound of that engine and the quality of that video really blew my mind.
Yar @ Apr 25th 2008 12:06PM
Sweet. I hope this is like ZR1 day or something. So much cool stuff.
Dolemite @ Apr 25th 2008 5:26PM
Hehe, indeed.
First the Corvette haters were pi$sing all over themselves in the ZR1 engine spec post, so they must be eating their own sh!t by now. Any more good news about the ZR1 and the ba$stards will just die.
Tim @ Apr 25th 2008 12:09PM
The apparent ease with which it climbs to 205 makes it seem like there's more available with different gearing.
Fooman @ Apr 25th 2008 12:22PM
I agree, it looks and sounds rev limited not drag limited. Considering the ZO6 is over 190 (197mph r&t sept 06) supposedly drag limited, this much more power with pretty much the same drag should get a higher top end.
Unless the aero mods on the ZR1 are putting that much downforce... I think this is not true as the ZR1 is a softer sprung car then the Z06 and I would think you would run into bottoming the car out with more downforce then the z06.
tenbase @ Apr 25th 2008 12:29PM
Don't forget the ZR1 has the magneto-whatever suspension that undoubtedly firms up at speed. Kinda like me.
Blake @ Apr 25th 2008 2:14PM
Not only the ease of it climbing to 205, but the stability when it's there. That's what impressed me. It looked solid. The driver didn't have to fight with it at all. Very impressive.
MikeW @ Apr 25th 2008 4:51PM
What did I say about GM rejiggering the gearing to the new engine.
The gearing is as good as it is going to get. It will still have a hard time off the line.
Shift points should be
1st-60mph, 2nd-90, 3rd-120, 4th-145, 5th-180, 6th-220@6500 (downhill with tail wind)
The Cd must have taken a hit, or the intercooler capacity must not be able to move all those BTUs.
Matt Keller @ Apr 25th 2008 12:12PM
That.
Was.
AWESOME.
Yayaja @ Apr 25th 2008 12:14PM
Wow!!
Zane @ Apr 25th 2008 12:15PM
Folks, brace yourself for another barrage of ZR1 info.. good stuff though.
TW6Speed @ Apr 25th 2008 12:16PM
Wow! The video alone makes me want to go out and push my Malibu Maxx to the limit (112 mph). I am very proud of the Chevy boys. YES WE CAN.........
Allen @ Apr 25th 2008 1:42PM
you really shouldn't do that.
TriShield @ Apr 25th 2008 12:16PM
I like how Edmunds put the ZR1 in perspective.
"That makes the ZR1 easily the most powerful vehicle General Motors has ever produced and puts the king of Corvettes into a mighty exclusive club. The ZR1 essentially matches the output of the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and trails the extra-extreme limited-edition Ferrari Enzo by only a smidge. Perhaps, just as important to Chevrolet, is that the ZR1 brings 38 hp more to the American-car smackdown than the new Dodge Viper.
And at an estimated weight of 3,350 pounds, each of the ZR1's horses will have only 5.25 pounds of Vette to carry around. That weight-to-power ratio is closer to the Enzo (5 pounds) than the Viper (5.75 pounds). The Murcielago LP640 saddles each of its horses with almost 6.5 pounds. The ZR1's hp peak comes at 6,500 rpm. Its torque peak of 604 pound-feet comes at a low 3,800 rpm. Passing should not present a problem in the ZR1."
It's an amazing car. It will be interesting to see what this powertrain does to the CTS-V and Camaro when those hit the streets too.
Even more so when tuners get ahold of all these cars.
Yar @ Apr 25th 2008 12:35PM
I can't wait for the CTS-V. So much so that I'm on the "First Call" list when my local dealer gets the pricing and pre-order info. Its going to be a helluva car and an incredible investment. The Last Great Cadillac.
I just wish they had built a limited run of the Sixteen just before CAFE kicked in. That would have been so great, a final 'Hurrah!'