The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is fast. We know this. With 1,250 horsepower from its twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 and front-axle electric motor, it can clear the quarter-mile in under nine seconds and the 60 mph dash in less than two. It’s also nearly three seconds quicker around the Nürburgring Nordschleife than the 815-hp Ford Mustang GTD, the $327,690 pony car built by the same Multimatic firm that preps the Blue Oval’s GT race cars. We figured the ZR1X would still cost less, and today we also know that it does: the ultimate Corvette starts at $207,395, including a destination charge of $1,995.
The ZR1X comes as both a coupe and convertible. That base MSRP is for the hardtop; the convertible adds another $10,000. There’s also an optional 3LZ interior package that upgrades the Bose audio system, seats, steering wheel, and some trim, while also throwing in a forward-facing camera and second wireless phone charger. The 3LZ starts at $218,395 for the coupe, and $228,395 sans roof.
But wait, there’s more! To have the fastest ZR1X, you also need to tick the box for the optional $10,495 ZTK Performance Package, which brings “modified chassis controls calibrations,” higher spring rates for the suspension, extra carbon fiber aero, and—most importantly for any wannabe Nürburgring hot-lappers—Michelin Pilot Cup 2R tires. Roll it all together, and that’s how a $207,000 hypercar very quickly becomes a $240,000 hypercar.
On one hand, I want to knock Chevy for giving the ZR1X trim codes like an Equinox, and also making niceties like extra speakers and heated/ventilated seats optional extras on a $200K machine. That said, even fully kitted, the ZR1X is a high-performance bargain—there’s just no two ways about it.
GM will use this, rightly, as bragging rights against its crosstown rival, but the ZR1X invites comparisons to cars priced 10 or 20 times higher from across the pond with similar metrics. At the same time, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS starts at around $50K more than the ZR1X with less than half the Vette’s total horsepower, and still lapped the Green Hell within a tenth of the bowtie’s monster. So, power isn’t everything.
The most exclusive ZR1X at launch will be the Quail Silver Limited Edition, priced at $241,395. That’s the one you see in these pictures, clad in Blade Silver Matte, a color that harkens to the Inca Silver paint on the first-generation Corvette. The Quail ZR1X will make its first public showing at the Monterey Car Week venue of the same name on August 15, alongside “the debut of GM Design’s inspiration for the future of Corvette,” per Chevy’s press release. Personally, I’ve always been a yellow Corvette guy—especially on the Z06 and ZR1—but that muted silver really pairs nicely with the orange calipers.
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