Onboard: Watch the 1,064-HP Chevy Corvette ZR1 Break Road Atlanta’s Lap Record

When a production car breaks 180 mph on Road Atlanta's back straight, you know it's going to set a crazy time. The post Onboard: Watch the 1,064-HP Chevy Corvette ZR1 Break Road Atlanta’s Lap Record appeared first on The Drive.

Feb 11, 2025 - 23:39
 0
Onboard: Watch the 1,064-HP Chevy Corvette ZR1 Break Road Atlanta’s Lap Record

The obscenely powerful 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is already breaking track records. Who could have seen that coming? Chevy announced Tuesday that the 1,064-horsepower supercar slayer just set five new benchmarks at racecourses across the United States: Watkins Glen Long Course, Road America, Virginia International Raceway Full Course, VIR Grand Course, and Road Atlanta. This onboard video of the C8’s record run at the latter shows it’s a ton of car for that track, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous of the engineer behind the wheel.

Before this, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS was the fastest production car around Road Atlanta with a mark of 1:24.88. It actually broke the C7 Corvette ZR1’s pre-existing lap record there. Now, GM and the Corvette team have recaptured the benchmark with a blistering 1:22.8 lap time.

Accomplishing this feat was Corvette engineer Chris Barber, the same man who started this whole record-breaking back-and-forth with the last-gen ZR1. Barber was happy to be back at Road Atlanta as it’s a short, hilly track with blind crests, tricky corners, and a long straight to show off all that horsepower.

“I was thrilled to get Road Atlanta because of the history Corvette has there,” said Barber. “It’s my favorite track in North America. Coming away with a two-second-faster lap record was beyond exciting for me.”

While Barber had fun breaking the lap record back in 2019 with the old ZR1, it was a little bit easier this time around. “That car is awesome, but it’s harder to put down power,” he admits. “The mid-engine car is just more friendly—it puts power down easier having that weight in the back.”

I think there might be an even faster time in there somewhere. Not to knock Barber or say that he didn’t get everything out of the car—he came mighty close—but watching the onboard video, the ZR1 looks a little bouncy and the front end seems a tad twitchy, more so than in the 911 GT2 RS video. It’s possible that the ZR1 could be even quicker still and beat its already incredible record, but until it’s knocked off the top, there’s no real reason to.

Enjoy the onboard as the car flies around the historic sportscar track’s 12 turns:

Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com

The post Onboard: Watch the 1,064-HP Chevy Corvette ZR1 Break Road Atlanta’s Lap Record appeared first on The Drive.