Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X at the 0–150–0-MPH Speed Test 2026
From the September/October 2026 issue of Car and Driver.
0–150–0 mph: 14.0 seconds
Base: $238,185 | As-Tested: $255,960 Power and Weight: 1250 hp • 4152 lb • 3.3 lb/hp Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZP; F: 275/30ZR-20 (97Y) TPC, R: 345/25ZR-21 (104Y) TPC Brakes, F/R: 16.5-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc/16.5-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc
She slices! She dices! She’ll make short work of dinner prep and even shorter work of a 0-to-150-to-0 challenge. For some perspective on this overall time: The sharp-edged ZR1X demolished its entire run 0.2 second longer than it took the Elantra to hit a quarter-mile. The Corvette did it in barely more than a quarter-mile, too, with a total of 1729 feet.
Something interesting for you math nerds: The Chevy was not the quickest accelerator (that was the Lucid), nor was it alone the quickest to slow down (it tied with the McLaren). It was close enough to both, though, that a combined run up and down puts Detroit’s sweetheart in the top spot on our leaderboard.
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If you’ve lost track of all the Vette variants, the ZR1X is the current big boss. It combines the twin-turbo flat-plane-crank 5.5-liter V-8 from the ZR1 with an electric motor on the front axle from the former E-Ray (and upcoming Sport X) for a total of 1250 horsepower. Even with a 4152-pound curb weight, the ZR1X has a 3.3 pound-to-horsepower ratio, and it takes full advantage.
In our discussions with Chevrolet, there was some question whether we should test a car with the Carbon Fiber Aero package or without the big wing. In the end, Chevy decided the time gained in braking (thanks, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires) more than offset the loss in acceleration to 150 mph. But to 200 mph, it’s the other way around.
The Corvette deserves its winning spot, but Chevy is lucky we didn’t count prep time, because if the McLaren was demanding in its backstage starting procedures, the Corvette was an absolute diva. There were more steps to launching the Vette than there are in the instruction booklet to build the Lego version. VanderWerp had to warm the battery by discharging and recharging it, while also warming the tires and following a NASA-level spreadsheet of preflight instructions to manage the burnout and launch rpm.
“It’s very finicky to get the burnout right,” VanderWerp says. “You need a little brake to hold it back, but too much kicks it out of the correct mode.” Get it right, and the ZR1X is an absolute weapon of ground-based acceleration.
Back to 0–150–0 Speed Test 2026
Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews. In 2020, she received a Best Feature award from the Motor Press Guild for the C/D story "A Drive through Classic Americana in a Polestar 2." In 2023, her Car and Driver feature story "In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest" was awarded 1st place in the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.