VIDEO: C8 Corvette Z06 Aces 0-150-0 Speed Test

C8 Z06 was the second quickest gas-powered car in the 0-150-0 speed test, but it barely beat a Corvette from nearly 30 years ago.

0 to 60 mph acceleration times are a universal performance metric used to compare vehicle performance. And while acceleration is fun and interesting to compare, braking performance should also be factored in whenever you are talking about a performance car. So, back in 1998 Car and Driver devised a 0-150-0 test. Cars would accelerate from a standstill to 150 mph and then brake as quickly as possible. The car with the shortest elapsed time was the winner. The problem with this speed test is that it requires a lot more space than a simple 0 to 60 acceleration run. As a result, the test is not run very often.

Well, speed freaks, we have good news for you. Car and Driver just ran the speed test again and posted a video of the event to their YouTube channel. A dozen new cars took part and the C8 Z06 was the second quickest gas-powered car. It finished behind only the Porsche 911 Turbo S. A remarkable showing. But perhaps even more impressive is that a Ligenfelter ZR-1 from the 1998 test would beat a brand-new Porsche 911 GT3 RS and was only eight tenths of a second behind the new Z06.

C8 Z06

The C8 Z06 is a road course track weapon. It was not made to dominate a drag strip, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the goods in a straight line. The 670 horsepower Z06 ran an 11.3 second quarter mile and hit 150 mph in 16.3 seconds. Braking took another 6.2 seconds bringing the total elapsed 0-150-0 time to 22.5 seconds for the C8 Z06. That was good enough to land on the second step of the podium on this day.

C8 Z06 Versus Modern Competition

The C8 Z06 with a time of 22.5 seconds was the meat in a Porsche sandwich. Third place was the 911 GT3 RS at 24.4 seconds. And in first place was the 911 Turbo S with a 19.3 second time. But there is a caveat. A Tesla Model S Plaid and a Lucid Air Sapphire were not able to attend on the same day, but they were later tested at different locations and put down astounding numbers. The Tesla ripped off a time of 16.2 seconds and the Lucid and stomach-churning 15.5 second result. Different days at different facilities means the EV results must be marked with an asterisk. But there is no questioning that they would stomp even the quickest gas-powered cars in this type of speed test.

C8 Z06 Versus Ligenfelter ZR-1

The Ligenfelter ZR-1 in the 1998 test was from 1994. Next year, it will be 30 years old. In many states it could be registered as an antique vehicle. But in the 1998 test this ZR-1 was the overall winner. The 640 horsepower C4 Corvette put down a time of just 23.3 seconds. The Ligenfelter car hit 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds, and did the quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 128 mph. Mind-blowing times for a car that was built before the iPod was invented. However, with the proliferation of EVs and their inherent acceleration advantages, it is unlikely that any cars in the 2023 test will be competitive 30 years from now.

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