2019 Corvette ZR1 Hits The Dyno For The Very First Time

If you asked me right now what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would have to say — at this moment — it’d have to be YouTuber StreetSpeed717. And while that may sound awfully millennial of me, stick with me for a second. StreetSpeed717, also know by his birth name Mike, just so happens to be one of the first recipients of GM’s latest flagship, the seventh-generation Corvette ZR1.

Not only is he one of the first owners to ever take delivery of the veritable 755-horsepower brute, his is VIN 004. That’s right, it’s only the fourth C7 ZR1 to ever roll off the assembly line. Basically, the only person who got this car ahead of Mike was Rick Hendrick and he paid $925,000 for his. VIN 002 and 003 likely either went to the Corvette Museum or internal employees. Needless to say, you can now see why I want to be like Mike (see what I did there?).

And since Mike is an enthusiast himself, the first thing he thought of after taking delivery of his shiny new Sebring Orange Corvette was “what would this thing make on the dyno?” And we’re glad he did. While we know that the 6.2-liter LT5 makes 755 horsepower and 715 lb-ft of torque at the brochure, we’ve been anxious to see how that translates to the real world. We’ve witnessed first-hand that GM’s latest powertrains are either very efficient or very underrated, or even maybe a little of both. With that in mind, we were anxious to see what the ZR1 did when it hit the rollers.

Mike’s C7 ZR1 was optioned without the menacing ZTK package that would have endowed the car with the massive carbon fiber rear wing, but this was done for good reason — the least of which was to be easy on his pocketbook. Mike intends to compete with the car in half-mile and standing-mile events. This means he wanted as little drag as possible. And while it lacks the larger rear wing, that’s about all it’s missing.

From the video, it appears Mike’s ‘Vette not only has the 3ZR trim level, which wraps much of the interior in “color-keyed” accents and leather, but with the ZR1 Sebring Orange Design Package which offers black leather with orange stitching and side microfiber inserts. Obviously, the options on the car have been chosen meticulously since it was optioned with the 7-speed manual as well. Many would go for the 8-speed auto but Mike has a specific destiny in mind for this Corvette.

With just 210 miles showing on the clock, Mike nudged the Corvette onto the rollers over at Race Proven Motorsports. When the exhaust settled, the best the car could muster is 668 rwhp and 644 lb-ft of torque. Considering the car is rated at 755 at the flywheel, those numbers represent just an 11.5 percent drivetrain loss. Not unheard of, especially considering the car has a manual transmission, but still relatively low in the grand scheme of things.

Unsurprisingly, the ZR1 shows us that it’s no slouch and is ready to crack some heads. Just think of what this thing might be capable of with a little tuning, much less a smaller pulley for the massive 2.65-liter blower that sits astride the LT5. We can’t wait to see what people do with them, and with the LT5’s dual-fuel injection system, the sky is arguably the limit with these. The race is on for the first 1,000 rwhp C7 ZR1 and it looks like Mike has quite the lead.

About the author

Chase Christensen

Chase Christensen hails from Salt Lake City, and grew up around high-performance GM vehicles. He took possession of his very first F-body— an ’86 Trans Am— at the age of 13 and has been wrenching ever since.
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