How To Get the Best 2025 Corvette ZR1 0-60 Time

Corvette engineers spilled the beans about how you can best hope to match the staggering 2.3-second 2025 ZR1 0-60 time.

You’ve just dropped two hundred grand on the most powerful — and expensive — Corvette ever made, a halo supercar capable of a 233 mph top speed, something you’ll probably never experience. But there are other metrics to chase after one’s 500-mile breaking period. Including an advertised 2.3-second 0-60 mph time. A blistering time that’s shocking because the ZR1 isn’t an all-wheel-drive EV, nor was said time captured on the prepped surface of a drag strip. (Looking at you, Tesla Model S Plaid and Dodge Demon 170.)

But how easy is it, really, for us commoners to match such claimed times?

Fortunately, GM recently invited Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained to drive the new King of the Hill at COTA in Austin, Texas. And thanks to Fenske’s detailed discussions with Corvette engineers, which he outlined in the video below, we now know GM’s secret recipe for ripping perfect 2025 ZR1 0-60 times.

But before we explain, we have a couple of important notes:

Initial Vehicle Movement

GM’s PR-quoted 2.3-second 2025 ZR1 0-60 time accounts for “initial vehicle movement.” Another word for this, according to the SAE J1491, is “one-foot rollout,” which dates back to drag racing, where vehicles needed to move forward to break a beam of light to start the timer.

In other words, don’t be upset if you do everything you can with your ZR1, but still can’t match the official time. Because GM deletes the amount of time it takes for the ZR1’s tire to roll forward by one foot.

Meaning the ZR1’s real-world, GPS-measured 0-60 mph time is closer to 2.5 seconds.

A Note About Tires & Launch Surfaces

GM said that it recorded its best 0-60 times on high-quality asphalt — no cracks and loose debris, presumably — but not on a prepped surface like the Dodge Demon 170 and Tesla Model S Plaid. Further, the engineers used a ZR1 equipped with the optional, ultra-sticky ZR1-specific Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires.

However, the GM engineers said base ZR1s, which run the terrific Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (PS4S) summer ultra-performance tire, “should” be able to match the same 0-60 time as the Cup 2R tires. But the challenge is that it requires a perfect launch because, apparently, the ZR1 has so much power that it’s on the “true edge of tire grip” for its entire 0-60 run. And the PS4S is reportedly unable to recapture grip if it begins to spin during the run, whereas the Cup 2R reportedly can.

Getting the Best ZR1 0-60 Times in 3 Easy Steps

Step 1: Set up

Unfortunately, unlike many AWD supercars, getting the best 0-60 run in a ZR1 isn’t as simple as dropping the pedal and holding on. You first need to set up two features in the ZR1’s Performance Menu: Custom Launch Control (CLC) and Slip Target. (You can read more about this on pages 221-223 of the 2025 Corvette Owner’s Manual, which you can download HERE.)

According to Fenske, the ZR1 offers five CLC modes, with CLC 1 being the easiest launch and CLC 5 being the hardest launch. According to Fenske, Corvette engineers used CLC 4 combined with 10-11% Slipt Target to earn its best 0-60 times. Apparently, GM designed CLC 5 for drag strips with prepped surfaces.

Step 2: Burnout

With the ZR1 in the right mode, next do a short 2-3-second rolling burnout in first gear. You can do this by pulling both paddle shifters — which puts the DCT into neutral — revving up the motor, and then releasing the paddles.

(Crazily, the ZR1 is so powerful with so much traction, you can’t use the front brakes to do a burnout because you’ll just push the Z forward despite the locked front tires.)

Step 3: Launch Time

With your tires warmed up and sticky, it’s time to go using Custom Launch Control, and that should be it. Rev up the engine, release the brake pedal, hold on, and be as safe as possible. If you start spinning wildly, please let go and try again.

(NOTE: from a legal standpoint, 0-60 mph experiments should ONLY be conducted in off-road environments away from the general public.)

The Video

For a deep dive into the ZR1’s incredible performance capabilities, watch this entire Engineering Explained video!

Michael S. Palmer

Michael S. Palmer began his career assisting and developing content for Academy Award-winning and studio-based film and television producers. He has been a professional writer since 2008, when he joined the Writers Guild of America West (WGAw). As a journalist and Content Editor/Manager, he has covered numerous emerging imaging, theatrical exhibition, home entertainment, and automotive technologies. He currently spends his days creating original content at the Internet Brands Automotive Group for some of the world's largest online automotive communities, including Ford Truck Enthusiasts, CorvetteForum, ClubLexus, AudiWorld, and LS1Tech. He recently teamed with Chevrolet Performance, Holley, Magnaflow, Eaton, Wilwood, Michelin, Chemical Guys, and Summit Racing to build his first project car. Installing an LS3 E-ROD Connect & Cruise system into a 1992 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon made his eight-passenger wagon faster than a C5 Corvette to 60mph and 50 state emissions legal. His wife and daughter are very patient.

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