Putting the new Corvette ZR1 into performance perspective

The Corvette ZR1 is the most expensive Corvette ever produced, but it's also faster than some very famous hypercars.

I love that you think the GTS is the one to buy – 82% would leave the RS behind. Could it be because you’re spending $200,000 on a Boxster? Maybe. Could making cheap sports cars expensive turn them into something special? Let’s find out with a Corvette ZR1.

The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 vs the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

Corvette ZR1
Photo: Chevrolet

See the 918 listing here

Build a ZR1 here

I’m not quite sure if I’ll be able to snag a ZR1 press car. I hope so. But if I do, I must admit that I will be a bit intimidated. 0-60 in 2.3 seconds? A quarter mile time of 9.6?

From a stock car?

I’ve driven things with close to this much power, and it is a blast. But to build a car with that much huevos rancheros takes at least a bit of knowledge and understanding of just what exactly you’re getting yourself into. In the ZR1, anybody can walk in, sign a few papers, and drive away with a nuclear missile. And when I say anybody, I really do mean almost anybody.

chevrolet-corvette-zr1-coupe-007-1
Looks like any other Corvette inside. Will that give some pause for $200k?

Sure, $174,000 is a lot of money for a Corvette, and that’s before you add the options you probably want. But what if I told you that this ZR1 was faster than a 911 Turbo? A McLaren Senna? A damn 918 Spyder?! All of it true. Of those three, the car that comes closest to its performance is the 918. Current price: $3.4 million dollars.

You could buy twenty ZR1s for that money – almost enough to not drive the same car for a full month.

But I get it. A 918 is a hypercar. Is the Vette?

The 2025 Corvette ZR1

zr1
Let’s make ours Hysteria Purple with polished wheels.

Oh, I can hear you already.

“It’s not a hypercar, Mike. Ur sO DuM.”

Okay, wise guy. What if I just read some specs for you?

  • 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds
  • 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
  • 944 lb-ft of torque
  • 9,150 RPM redline
Corvette E-Ray
The ZR1 will also be available as a convertible.

This car I reference is…not the Corvette. Bet you thought it was, but the Vette would never be seen with such paltry numbers. It has an 8-speed DCT, is .3 seconds faster to 60, and is a tenth faster in the quarter mile. Yea, it has a thousand fewer RPMs to play with (8,000), and “just” 828 lb-ft of torque, but it’s faster anyway.

Looking through the preliminary online builder, my only disappointment would be that the ZR1 gets the same colors and interiors as do lesser Corvette. To make it crazy (and make it break the $200k barrier), opt for the exterior carbon package ($8,495) and carbon wheels. I’d say go with Hysteria Purple Metallic. Sounds fun. Carbon ceramic brakes and a carbon roof are standard. There’s also a convertible version.

Corvette E-Ray
The problem inside: they all look the same.

It’s true – you’re going to get in this car and say to yourself, “Self, this car feels like a $70,000 Vette inside.” Do you really care about that once you are laying waste to anything else with four wheels?

You do? Well, bring more money…

The 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

2015-porsche-918--spyder-3149900-2129007126
The 918. Photo: DuPont Registry

The 918 is a decade old. When did that happen? Feels like it was just on Grand Tour battling the Ferrari The Ferrari and the McLaren P1

Thanks to the amazing internet, we really can buy anything we want at any time. And I want one of these:

  • 1,495 miles
  • White – I’m sure it’s a fancy white but they don’t say
  • Weissach Package presented with gloss black Salzburg livery
  • One owner
  • Black leather with Acid Green highlights. They match the decals and brake calipers, and the entire car well done.
  • Original MSRP: $845,000
  • Current as-listed price: $3,395,000
918-sypder-interor
Porsche did well to keep the interior somewhat timeless. Maybe that’s because Porsche changes at a glacial pace. Photo: DuPont Registry.

How can I put this…

The 918 is dating a supermodel. The ZR1 is the porn star. Cringe all you want, but once you’re home, the lights are off, and no one else is around to judge your choices, you know which car is going to be more fun.

But yea, hey, you do need to be seen out in public in this car, and no matter how you dress up a Corvette, it’s still a Corvette. If you’re in the market for a 918, are you even giving this ZR1 a second look?

Be careful though, because the ZR1 might not give you a second look either. As he passes you.

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