A group of Chevrolet engineers have decided to take a little roadtrip in the not-so-little Corvette ZR1, ticking off a few landmarks along the way. Like Watkins Glen’s ‘Long Course’, Road America, Road Atlanta, and the Virginia International Raceway.
You will notice all four of those are circuits. And on this fun, chilled and definitely relaxing roadtrip, said engineers just happened to set five new production car lap records. When you’ve got a mighty 1,064hp V8 and dive planes for days, you’ve not really got a choice in the matter.
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Said engineers – Bill Wise, Brian Wallace, Chris Barber and Aaron Link – were equipped with a pre-production Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 outfitted with the ‘ZTK’ track pack (that adds a high-downforce rear wing, stiffer springs and stickier Michelin Cup 2R tyres), and a combined 65 years of ‘GM Level 6’ driving experience. For ‘Level 6’, read: Professional Hoonmerchant.
So. Bill Wise took the 375kph ZR1 around Watkins Glen’s Long Course in 1m 52.7s; Brian Wallace shot around Road America in 2m 08.6s; Chris Barber blitzed Road Atlanta in 1m 22.8s; Aaron Link got greedy and took two bites out of Virginia International Raceway, with a 1m 47.7 on the ‘Full Course’, and a 2m 32.3s on the ‘Grand Course’.
Though, while these chaps are GM-certified Professional Hoonmerchants, Chevy assures mere mortals they’d have a chance of going rather quickly around a track, too. “With four different individuals behind the wheel of the Corvette ZR1, each with a different driving style, these lap times showcase the engineering prowess of the car,” said Chevy.
“Future customers don’t need to be professional drivers to extract the ultimate performance of the 1,064-horsepower Corvette ZR1.”
Want to be a future customer? Chevy’s asking $174,995 (approx. P10.1-M) for the ZR1 coupe, and $184,995 (around P10.7-M) for the convertible - less than $200k for over a thousand wild American horsies and performance that’d shame stuff twice as expensive. Yeesh. Where’d you take yours on a roadtrip?
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
