There are many potential ways to start a story about the Corvette ZR1X. The most obvious is to celebrate the glorious improbability of its 1250-hp peak power output, produced by the combination of a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V-8 and the 400-volt electric motor that powers the front wheels. But there are plenty of other shock-and-awe numbers: Chevy’s claims of a 1.68-second 0-60 and an 8.675-second quarter-mile at 159.6 mph stand out. Or how about Corvette chief engineer Josh Holder’s casually dropped fact that, at full throttle, it will empty its 18.5-gallon tank in just under 10 minutes?
But, for ease of orientation, it’s probably best to begin where we left off with the ZR1, the car that sits immediately below the ZR1X in the C8 Corvette hierarchy. The ZR1 has already won the highest honor that R&T can bestow, being our 2026 Performance Car of the Year. And, as we concluded that test, it “prompts the tantalizing question of whether Chevrolet will ever be able to raise the bar further. It remains to be seen whether the forthcoming all-wheel-drive hybrid version, the ZR1X, will have the same borderline crazy impact.”
Less than two months later I can confirm that’s a hell yes.
The venues automakers choose to introduce new models to the media are often telling. Racetracks are commonly used for the fastest and most powerful cars, but the selection criteria takes account of both the need to demonstrate the car’s abilities and to provide a relatively safe playground. When it comes to the four-figure power outputs increasingly common in this part of the market, that normally means circuits with long straightaways, generous run-off areas, and a minimal number of things to hit with an unprompted off-track excursion.
Video by General Motors
But for the ZR1X, Chevrolet chose Sonoma Raceway in Northern California. It was my first time there, so I sought advice from colleagues more familiar with it. Advice that included the words “spectacular” and “brave,” plus, from editor-at-large Matt Farah, this simple summary: “Yeah, that’s a crash-able track.”
Fortunately, I get to learn the circuit in a Corvette E-Ray, giving me the chance to experience the many tricky corners and 160 feet of elevation changes at a relatively slow pace before being sent out in the ZR1X. Even running at eight-tenths following an instructor, there are several obvious places to get things Very Badly Wrong. The big question is how a car with almost twice as much power is going to deal with the tight, technical layout.
The E-Ray is a rational place to start, given its shared split hybrid system. And although the creation of the ZR1X has involved a huge amount of development work and the collective effort of hundreds of engineers, the basics of the new car can indeed be thought of as being E-Ray at the front and ZR1 at the back.
The ZR1X has the same electric drive motor as the E-Ray, producing slightly more power and torque, up to 186 hp and 145 lb-ft, and drawing power from a battery that sits in the central tunnel. This pack has the same 1.9-kWh gross capacity as the E-Ray, but with 1.5 kWh of this usable—a 29 percent increase. The electric motor has a slightly higher maximum speed at 17,000 rpm and doesn’t disengage until the car reaches 160 mph: Those are increases of 1000 rpm and 10 mph over the E-Ray. But all of the basic hardware is shared, and the ZR1X has no ability to add electrical energy, or harvest it through regen, using anything other than the front axle.
Beyond calibration tweaks, the combustion side of the powertrain is identical to the ZR1: the LT7 twin-turbo V-8, with a flat-plane crank, uprated pistons and connecting rods over the Z06’s naturally aspirated LT6, and both port and direct injection to keep up with its prodigious appetite for fuel. This powers the rear wheels through a Tremec eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The only other cars that get close on performance and technical sophistication are top-drawer exotics. The Lamborghini Revuelto and Temerario, Ferrari Testarossa, and forthcoming Aston Martin Valhalla all have more advanced hybrid systems, with two motors up front and one integrating its efforts with the engine at the rear. But the ZR1X boasts more peak power than any of them. There’s no dissent from me when Tony Roma, Corvette’s executive chief engineer, describes it as being the brand’s first hypercar.
Yet, parked in the Sonoma paddock, the ZR1X doesn’t shout about its position at the top of the range. Okay, it shouts pretty loud in general thanks to the combination of the mostly aperture front end (with no fewer than 18 heat exchangers to cool) and the similarly vast air intakes behind the doors. But all of that is shared with the ZR1. The only thing that obviously distinguishes the X is the branding it carries on the rear side intakes.
Both ZR1 and ZR1X can be ordered with the $1500 ZTK Track Performance package, which adds firmer springs, stiffer dampers, and circuit-friendly Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. The ZR1X can also be ordered with or without the $10,495 Carbon Fiber Aero pack, which brings additional dive planes to the front end and the vast high-mounted rear wing. The other big dynamic choice is the $13,995 for carbon-fiber wheels. But all of these are also available on the ZR1, and mechanically the only obvious difference is that the ZR1X gets bigger brakes as standard: massive 16.5-inch-diameter carbon discs gripped by 10-pot calipers at the front and six-potters at the rear. But this upgrade is also included in the ZR1’s ZTK pack.
In short, you could choose to view the changes between ZR1 and ZR1X as being, in essence, another option pack given the two cars are only separated by $24,700 when it comes to base price. Something that Roma tacitly acknowledged: “We call it the straightaway delete package.”
One surprise takeaway from the technical briefing is that the ZR1X isn’t substantially quicker than the ZR1 on track, with the around-200-pound increase in mass fighting against the benefits brought by the increase in power. That’s why, at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the all-wheel-drive car’s 6:49.275 lap was just 1.5 seconds faster than the ZR1’s time around the 12.9-mile circuit. Aaron Link, Corvette’s vehicle performance manager, says the electric motor is used to improve drivability rather than just add performance: “From the driver’s seat there’s a tameness we’ve brought to this car which is startling.”
Despite the promises of friendliness, you won’t be surprised to hear that I was still feeling a fair amount of intimidation before my first stint at Sonoma, driving a ZTK-equipped car with the big wing and riding on what were pre-warmed Cup 2R tires. There is a suspicion within the R&T team that I may be a minor rain god, having brought wet weather to my drives of both Testarossa and the prototype Valhalla. And the skies over the raceway are indeed gray and threatening as I head onto the track for the first time . . .
Initial impressions are that the ZR1X is very similar to the ZR1. The V-8 is almighty, delivering huge urge that just keeps growing as revs increase. Even on a racetrack, getting the accelerator to its stop and holding it there for any period of time required mental recalibration, such were the longitudinal g’s being delivered. For the first couple of laps—running behind a pace-setting ZR1X—my brain was telling me to change up well short of the 8000-rpm redline. Not because of any flatness in the power delivery or tightness toward the top end, just because the forces were so savage. The flip side is the abundance of midrange punch meant the X was more than happy to be short-shifted on track; I soon learned that in all but Sonoma’s tightest chicane there was no need to change down to second.
The contribution from the electrical side of the powertrain was much less obvious. I started out with the hybrid system in its Endurance mode, which works to keep the battery level high enough for longer stints, broadly equivalent to around a full tank of gas. There’s also a more aggressive Qualify mode, which gives more boost through the motor, at the cost of running the pack down to its lowest possible level in as little as 3.5 miles on track—the high-voltage battery never fully depletes, saving some charge for dynamic intervention.
I’d be lying if I said I could feel any appreciable difference to the level of acceleration after selecting Qualify: It’s the sort of system where differences across a lap are measured in tenths rather than full seconds. There is also a “push-to-pass” function controlled by the cruise control button, which brings full electrical assistance regardless of powertrain mode when the throttle is pinned. Using this did bring the sensation of more speed, but only in that it turned what was already an insanely fast car into a very slightly more insanely fast car.
Finding the mental bandwidth to play with these setting was a challenge. Sonoma is a track that comes at you fast, especially with 1250 deployable horsepower. After the pace car had retired and I was left to drive the track by myself, concentration prioritized lines and braking points to the extent it took me a minute to realize that, although velocities and loadings were increasing, untoward drama was not. The ZR1X was gripping, sticking, and going pretty much wherever I wanted it to.
Using the 2.4-mile Indycar Circuit produced plenty of high points. There was the chance to revel in the heroic-feeling downforce-wrought stability through the hugely fast Turn 1, before hauling off speed for the climbing approach to Turn 2. The apex-over-crest of Turn 3A brought a jolt of adrenaline every lap, as did the downhill braking zone into Turn 4—the one place the ZR1X’s approximately 4200-pound fueled-and-driver’d mass felt most obvious. By contrast, the high-speed esses at the back of the circuit proved the car’s impressive agility each time.
Yet dynamically, the most telling corner was one of the less exciting ones: the long, long Turn 6, which is a more-than-180-degree left-hander forming part of the famous Carousel. This is the sort of seemingly endless, steady-state corner that most road cars dislike and which are normally an exercise in patience to avoid the front end scrubbing wide. The ZR1X didn’t do that, with beautiful balance that made it easy to shift the car’s attitude by backing off the throttle, the rear axle starting to edge wide as the fronts stayed glued on line. But then getting back on the gas didn’t push the tail into an actual slide, with the rear differential and front motor combining their efforts to keep the Vette hanging on what felt like the very edge of what was possible. An experience that felt way easier than it should have given the scale of the forces being juggled.
This was with the Performance Traction Management system in the Sport setting, which maintains a moderate level of behind-the-scenes involvement and which I could feel reining in the engine when I asked for too much in tighter turns. Beyond that, the PTM’s Race 1 and Race 2 modes progressively increased the intervention threshold, making it possible to more aggressively alter the handling balance. For the truly brave, a new PTM Pro setting fully disables all sentinels apart from the front-to-rear torque split.
Like lesser Corvettes, the ZR1X’s steering is relatively low-geared by the frenetic standards common to sharp-end supercars, meaning more input is necessary to get it turned. I quickly grew used to this, and it does help to deliver precise inputs at higher speeds and loadings. And I never felt any steering corruption from the electrical power sharing the front axle. But the amount of movement at the top end of the brake pedal’s travel was something I never grew to love on track, even if the retardation from the vast discs and huge calipers was unimpeachable. One fun fact I didn’t get the chance to test at Sonoma is Chevrolet’s claim the ZR1X can go from 180 mph to 120 mph in just 1.78 seconds, a rate of energy transfer equivalent to over 2500 horsepower.
The other issue raised by the ZR1X on a tight-fitting circuit was one of physical endurance. When executive editor Mike Austin first drove the ZR1 at COTA last year he discovered it could “outdrive its seats,” a sentiment I concurred with after a few laps here. The car I drove had been built without the Competition Sport bucket seats that are an optional part of the 3LZ package, and I was soon sliding uncomfortably on the regular bucket’s supple leather. So bear that in mind if you are ordering one for regular circuit work.
Chevrolet also gave the chance to experience the full brutality of the ZR1X’s ability to launch on Sonoma’s drag strip. This was a novel experience for me as a drag rookie, and my effort was sadly short of what the car is capable of, to the tutted displeasure of some of the watching engineers. But I can now boast that what was my second-ever run down a quarter-mile strip with a prepared surface was dispatched in 9.86 seconds at a 144-mph terminal speed. I’ll take that.
During Hearst Autos testing on an unprepared surface, the ZR1X did 0-60 mph in 2.1-seconds, 0-100 mph in four dead and ran through the quarter in 9.2 seconds at 155 mph.
Keen to show off the everyday viability of the ZR1X, Chevrolet also allowed driving on road. This was in a car without the ZTK package—meaning softer springs and dampers—and on the regular Michelin Pilot Sport 4S run-flats. Sadly, this also came at the point when the heavens did indeed open, meaning it was conducted in torrential rain. Conditions that meant I did drive most of the route using no more than the top inch of the long throttle travel.
But the uber-Corvette stayed entirely drivable in the sodden conditions, remaining predictable even when the tires sometimes fought to find traction. Ride on the non-ZTK suspension was comfortable over bumps and undulations; it’s no limousine, but the softer setup brings no hint of sloppiness at road speeds. The cabin is quiet when cruising too, the V-8 noise present but muted. Beyond the need to keep stopping to fill the tank, I suspect the ZR1X will be a fine way to cover long distances, especially as the C8’s broader dimensions give much more head- and shoulder room than in most low, wedgy supercars. There’s even still usable room for luggage in the rear compartment, although—as with the ZR1—the frunk has been sacrificed for a huge air duct.
This was also my first time experiencing the Corvette’s new-for-2026 interior layout that sacrifices the earlier C8’s cabin-dividing “wall of buttons” for a more conventional switchgear location and a larger touchscreen, all of which worked well.
The pride of Tony Roma and his team in the most extreme factory Corvette yet is both evident and entirely understandable. The ZR1X is a true hypercar, with composure and discipline to match its outlandish power output. As such it really does deserve to be considered against the exotics that cost multiples of its $212,195 starting price. You could load a ZR1X with every available option, including ZTK, the aero pack, and the carbon-fiber wheels, for less than half as much as an unoptioned Testarossa or Revuelto—and barely a quarter of what Aston will charge for a Valhalla. In this rarefied part of the market, this combination of performance and price is pretty much indistinguishable from magic.
The ZR1X is here because it was always part of the plan, the logical end point of switching the C8 to the mid-engine layout that unlocked a whole new plane of performance, as well as making the bold decision to develop the electric front axle. We’ve taken the story from the Stringray to the Z06, E-Ray and ZR1 before getting to this pinnacle, each feeling like a logical step.
But it’s one that leads us right back to where we started: How on earth is Chevrolet going to top the ZR1X?