Corvette ZR1X acceleratesThink about how quick a Volkswagen Golf R is. There's a pretty good chance that the current Golf R's 4.1-ish second 0-60 run is quicker than whatever you drive. That thing is the absolute hottest of hot hatches, and can absolutely smoke supercars of twenty years ago. Knowing all of this makes watching a Golf R get absolutely walked by the new king of American speed all the more entertaining. Chevrolet engineered the hybrid all-wheel drive Corvette ZR1X to provide the kind of acceleration you've never seen before unless you're a fighter jet pilot [or drive a Lucid Air Sapphire]. The newest episode of Jason Cammisa's Ultimate Drag Race Replay attempts to show every detail of a Corvette ZR1X drag strip pass on an unprepared paved surface. At a real drag strip with plenty of traction enhancing formula in the start box, the ZR1X runs a mid-8 second quarter mile out of the box. This is a car with license plates and a warranty, remember. And it doesn't even need wrinkle-wall slicks or skinny front tires to make it happen. Even on this unprepared surface, it ran a 9.1-second quarter mile, which is enough to make your eyeballs tickle your brain. And here's the crazy thing, the ZR1X that Hagerty ran in this test was actually aerodynamically limited in the quarter mile because of its massive ZTK-package downforce inducing components. With extra dive planes, underbody strakes, a hood Gurney flap, and a giant rear wing bending the wind to make more downforce, they're also creating massive drag. These are absolutely necessary for faster lap times on a track with curves, but they're a hindrance at the drag strip. With the softer suspension and slicker aero of the "standard" ZR1X, and the grippier Michelin Pilot Cup2 R tires from the ZTK package, this car would post an even quicker time! How does it do it?ZT1X engine"Well of course the ZR1X is way quicker than a Golf R, it has a 922 horsepower advantage," you yell at your computer or phone screen while reading this. Yeah, I definitely don't want to diminish the fact that the ZR1X is the most powerful car any mainstream American brand has ever built and sold through a dealership. It's definitely the power that is doing the lion's share of the work here. The only way a Corvette could come close to (or in this case beat) a Lucid Air Sapphire is with all-wheel drive traction and the extra oomph of electric propulsion. The already incredibly powerful Corvette ZR1 was tested by Hagerty to run a 9.8-second quarter mile. Popping a 186 horsepower and 145 lb-ft of torque electric motor on the front axle equated to a mega 0.7-second reduction in time for the ZR1X. Which makes sense because adding a less powerful electric motor to the front axle of the E-Ray made it quicker in the quarter than the much more powerful Z06. Really what I'm getting at is that there are too many Corvette models. Oh, and hybrid all-wheel drive is a game changer. In the realm of ridiculously fast cars for relatively little money, America can't be beat. With the ZR1X and Lucid Air Sapphire at the top of Hagerty's 9-second sprint testing charts, followed shortly by the (now dead) Tesla Model S Plaid and the standard ZR1, the only foreign-built interlopers are the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport costing several orders of magnitude more money, or the Ducati Panigale V4 SP2, which isn't even a car. This might be the most impressive car ever built in the U.S.A. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.
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