Corvette ZR1X: The Quickest American Production Car Ever

Corvette history just took another leap forward, and this one is big enough that we’ll be talking about it for years. GM has officially confirmed that the 2026 Corvette ZR1X is now the quickest American production car ever built, and the numbers are nothing short of jaw‑dropping.

During final validation testing at US 131 Motorsports Park in October 2025, the ZR1X laid down a quarter‑mile time of 8.675 seconds at 159 mph — on pump gas, with standard‑equipment tires, and using the same 50‑state‑legal calibration the production cars will ship with. Even more wild: the same run produced a 0–60 mph time of 1.68 seconds, with the car hitting 60 mph in under 100 feet and pulling 1.75G of acceleration.

This wasn’t a one‑off hero pass either. GM says the test car ran multiple back‑to‑back 8.7–8.8 second passes, proving the performance is repeatable, not a fluke.

Powertrain: 1,250 HP and Electrified AWD

The ZR1X’s numbers come from a combination we’ve all been speculating about for years:

• A twin‑turbo LT7 5.5L V8 producing 1,064 hp
• A front‑axle electric motor adding another 186 hp
• Total system output: 1,250 horsepower

All of that is delivered through an electrified all‑wheel‑drive system, giving the ZR1X the traction needed to make these insane launches possible.

GM test driver Stefan Frick was behind the wheel for the record-setting runs, using the Corvette lineup’s standard Custom Launch Control system. Drivers can adjust launch RPM and wheel‑slip targets directly from the auxiliary display — something every ZR1X owner will be able to play with.

Unprepped Surface? Still in the 8s.

Even without a prepped drag strip, the ZR1X equipped with the ZTK Performance Package can run:

• 8.99 seconds in the quarter mile
• 1.89 seconds 0–60 mph

That means this car is legitimately an 8‑second machine in real‑world conditions.

How It Stacks Up Against Hypercars

GM included a comparison chart, and it’s honestly wild to see the ZR1X sitting next to multi‑million‑dollar hypercars:

The takeaway?
The ZR1X is the quickest production car you can buy for under a million dollars — by a massive margin.

A New Benchmark for the C8 Era

GM also shared updated 0–60 mph stats for the entire eighth‑generation Corvette lineup:

• Stingray Z51: 2.9 sec
• Z06 Z07: 2.6 sec
• E‑Ray ZER: 2.5 sec
• ZR1 ZTK: 2.3 sec
• ZR1X ZTK: 1.89 sec

The ZR1X doesn’t just move the goalposts — it picks them up and launches them into orbit.

Built in Bowling Green

Production began in December 2025 at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant, continuing the tradition of American‑built Corvettes even as the technology becomes more advanced than anything the brand has ever produced.