Watch the Corvette ZR1 Blast Past its Official Top Speed!

A 212-mph top speed is a bold claim for any car. This test shows that if anything, Chevy was being a bit conservative with its number.

The C8 Corvette has been grabbing most of the headlines recently. Sometimes good and sometimes bad, but the newest Corvette is a popular news item for sure. However, let us not forget the incredible C7 ZR1 that preceded it. That car is utterly insane, and we mean that as a compliment. Yes, it was pricey for a Corvette, but the numbers it put up were simply staggering. One of the biggest numbers is 212. 212 mph is the official top speed that Chevrolet listed for the car.

Throughout automotive history manufacturers have published some favorable official top speeds that independent testing could never duplicate. So, when Chevy trotted out 212 mph for the ZR1 it raised a few eyebrows. Even with 755 horsepower on tap, pushing a car to cover nearly an entire football field every second is a heck of a challenge. The folks at Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds posted a video on their YouTube channel that shows the ZR1 can not only reach but exceed its official top speed.

Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds is the perfect place to take a car to Vmax. It is a 3-mile long, 100-yard-wide runway designed by NASA. It is one of the flattest surface runways in the world with only one quarter of an inch difference from end to end. If it was good enough for the Space Shuttle, it should be good enough for a sports car. The ZR1 may be powerful but it pales compared to the 37 million horsepower the three main shuttle engines produced.

The car in the video is a bone stock 2019 Corvette ZR1 with the optional 8-speed automatic transmission. It also does not seem to have the track performance package. The high rear wing with that package would increase downforce but also drag. The video only shows one run, but the car made two passes. Neither run had favorable wind conditions. The first run had a moderately stiff cross breeze, and the second had more of a headwind. Despite the wind, the car still managed to beat its claimed top speed, and hit nearly 214 mph.

Just 2 mph may not sound like much, but even matching the claimed top speed in those conditions is proof the number is legit. As impressive as the 214-mph number might be, we learn something else by watching this video. Good grief can that car accelerate. The car absolutely rockets to 150 mph before its rate of acceleration begins to slow. Even in the 180 – 200 mph range the car is still pulling well. It is simply amazing.

Most of us do not live on a 3-mile-long runway, or use one on our way to work, so top speed is largely irrelevant in the real world. However, it goes to show just how impressive the Corvette is as a performance machine. If you want to go faster, you are going to need to bring a lot more money to the table. The Corvette has always been about affordable, American performance and the C7 ZR1 continues the tradition. Now we wait with bated breath to see what the C8 ZR1 can do.

Images: Screengrabs from this August 12, 2020 Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds YouTube Video

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