Corvette ZR1 Wins 2026 Top Gear U.S. Supercar of the Year

By Brett Foote - December 15, 2025

Once again, the C8 Corvette ZR1 has gone head-to-head with the Ford Mustang GTD – only to come out on top once again.

There’s no denying that the new-for-2025, C8 generation Corvette ZR1 is a revolutionary product – even folks that aren’t necessarily Corvette fans, in general, can’t help but find themselves a bit slack-jawed at its capabilities. It isn’t every day that a 1,000+ horsepower sports car debuts, after all, and certainly not one that packs the kind of supreme performance-per-dollar ratio provided by the latest ZR1. Thus, it’s no surprise to see the C8 Corvette ZR1 continue to rack up accolades at a pace just as rapid as it accelerates to mind-scrambling speeds.

The latest award the Corvette ZR1 can add to its case is 2026 U.S. Supercar of the Year from Top Gear, and the criteria are quite simple – to be eligible for any of these categories, a vehicle must be sold in the U.S., and it must have launched within the past 12 months. It managed to once again take down the Ford Mustang GTD – a common occurrence in recent comparison tests – and for a number of valid reasons.

For starters, the Corvette ZR1 is “big by the standards of, say, a Ferrari 296 GTB or McLaren 750S, but it’s low and lean next to the comically pumped-up Mustang,” according to Top Gear’s Jethro Bovingdon. The ZR1 also wins where it counts – all-around performance. “The ZR1 has less downforce – 545kg but at way up over 200mph – but counters with a curb weight of around 1,800kg. Oh, and did I mention that its 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 has 1064bhp and 828 lb ft? In terms of power-to-weight, the ZR1 is king.”

These things might matter less if the ZR1 and GTD were close in terms of pricing, but that isn’t the case either – not by a long shot. “Bang-per-buck, too. Even with every carbon fiber box ticked, this ZR1 is $237,735. The hand-built GTD starts at $325,000, but you’ll need to add $46,000 for the Performance Package, and pretty soon you’ll arrive at a Mustang that costs $400,000.”

Ultimately, the latest Corvette ZR1 is just too good an all-around package to lose to the GTD as it sits, even though we’re lucky to have a pair of incredibly track-capable models to choose from in today’s world.

“The Mustang GTD and Corvette ZR1 are both pretty bloody fantastic,” Bovington concluded. “For pure drama, it’s hard to beat the Ford. Yet the American dream centers around abundance for the many, not the few. And the ZR1’s price (from $182,395 – we’ve driven Ferraris with a higher option spend), its power, performance, and its sharp, intuitive chassis response are impossible to ignore. Plus, it’s just plain faster.”