C7 Corvette ZR1 Runs with Hypercars at Willow Springs
Chevy’s latest performance bargain runs with the best of the best at America’s oldest road course.
The C7 Corvette ZR1 has only been on the streets for a few weeks now, but it’s already left an indelible mark on the automotive world. We’ve watched this destroyer of tracks annihilate the impossible to buy (unless you’re a Hollywood star) Ford GT at Virginia International Raceway, for starters. It was also at VIR that the mighty Corvette ZR1 reset the lap record for production cars, an impressive feat indeed. And when Motor Trend decided to insert pro driver Randy Pobst behind the wheel of one at Willow Springs, the results were nearly equally impressive.
But should we expect anything less from a car specifically designed to break track records? In fact, Pobst has already done just that in a new Corvette ZR1 at Road Atlanta. So thus, the world tour continued at the historic California circuit. Sadly, however, this time it didn’t set any new records. But it did record some mighty impressive results worth noting.
A ZTK-equipped C7 Corvette ZR1 lapped Willow Springs in 1:23.70, besting the latest Z06 by a full 1.3 seconds. Even better, that time was a mere 0.01 seconds behind the mark set by the Ford GT. It did fall short of beating out the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS, which still holds the production car lap record of 1:21.08. But that thing costs nearly three times as much, so there’s that.
Perhaps more impressively, the Corvette ZR1 was also right there with a host of other hypercars. Including such exclusive models as the Porsche 918, McLaren 720S, and Lamborghini Huracán Performante. All of which cost considerably more than Chevrolet’s disruptive ZR1. Of course, that’s something the Corvette has become quite famous for over the years. But as MT points out, Chevy seems to have perfected this bang for the buck formula with their latest king of the hill.
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