When one thinks about the golden era of Detroit muscle, visions of pre-smog era, gross horsepower machines with redline tires come to mind. The reality is the last 15 years of modern Detroit performance have dwarfed anything made during the 1960s. We got modern pony cars and Corvettes with modern suspensions, superior chassis performance, and build quality that put our old favorites to shame

During the 2000s and the 2010s, the Corvette blossomed from an American all-star to an international supercar. The 2025 Corvette ZR1 with its four-figure horsepower rating. is a new zenith. Riding on the C8 platform, it has demolished automotive sacred cows from Stuggart to Modena.

The wraps were pulled off the ZR1 last month, and it’s a doozy. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, here’s a brief refresher on the new King of The Hill Corvette. Chevy’s new plastic fantastic features a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 engine, known as the LT7, which pumps out a whopping 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 RPM with 828 lb-ft of torque. The engine employs a flat-plane crankshaft and redlines at a stratospheric 8,000 RPM. The twin turbochargers are designed with advanced materials to withstand searing temperatures and boost poundage, ensuring Saturn V rocket acceleration.

Members of the Corvette team, including General Motors President Mark Reuss. Photo – GM

The car is equipped with an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, which provides lightening gear changes that augment the driving experience. In theory, this setup allows the car to achieve a nose-bleed-inducing top speed and quarter-mile times.  The new “Corvette From Hell” ZR1 is expected to go on sale in 2025, with an estimated MSRP approaching $200K.

All this is titillating, but Chevy didn’t provide actual performance specs, until now. The Corvette team headed out to Papenburg Raceway in Germany and GM President, Mark Ruess took the ZR1 to 233 miles an hour. Just think, you can go to any Chevy dealer across our great country and buy a new ZR1 that can easily surpass the double-century mark.

The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is now the fastest car ever built by an American auto manufacturer. The video from Chevrolet is a great look at what it takes to get a team of Corvette experts across the pond and ready to hit the track. Here are some interesting tidbits about the historic run courtesy of GM:

• The ZR1 coupe which set the record had a standard chassis and aero package, with a standard spoiler with short wicker, carbon fiber ground effects, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, and aluminum wheels.
• Chevrolet engineers developed Top Speed Mode, exclusively for closed course use, which adjusts chassis control systems for maximum speed.
• The ZR1 reached 233 mph with the engine at the redline in sixth gear.
• During testing, including Reuss’s record run, an engineer was in the passenger seat analyzing data in real time.
• The 233-mph run was not a one-off performance. Five engineers and both ZR1 development cars onsite exceeded 230 mph across multiple runs.
• Papenburg provided optimal conditions, such as temperature and air density, for a high-speed test. Chevrolet engineers have previously set top speeds for the sixth and seventh-generation Corvette ZR1, and the sixth-generation Camaro ZL1 at this facility.