[VIDEO] Car and Driver Recreates its Famous 0-150-0 Test, the C8 Corvette Z06 Shines

25 years ago, Car and Driver upped the ante. Since the early ’60s, magazines and manufacturers had been occasionally quoting 0-100-0 times to showcase a vehicle’s two-way performance, which is to say straight line acceleration and braking prowess, all in a single test. By 1998, athleticism was up across the board, so C&D decided to tack on another 50 MPH and see how things went.

The first time around, a group of factory-fresh performance coupes – including a newly-minted C5 Corvette – and two super sedans were joined by tuner-specials from the usual suspects like Hennessey and Saleen. In the stock class, the LS1 Corvette handled itself admirably, but was ultimately undone by its excessively tall 5th gear that dropped it out of the power band at 134 MPH. Still, i’s 37.8-second run was good for bronze behind an Acura NSX and the blue ribbon Viper GTS (31.6 sec.). In the modified group, it was a four-year-old Lingenfelter ZR-1 that ran away from the pack. LPE’s 6.8L LT5 made 620 horses and helped it get to 150 and back to a standstill in a hard-to-believe 23.3 seconds.

Fast forward to 2023, and things have progressed to the point where tuners aren’t necessary, but their accomplishments in ’98 still provide a helpful measuring stick for the modern incarnation of one of American auto media’s finest hours. This time around, 670 HP Z06 will carry the Corvette flag into battle against a pair of 992-generation Porsche 911s – the Turbo S and the GT3 RS – the new “S650” Gen Mustang Dark Horse, the 3.0 Supra, Civic Type R, and an in-house competitor in the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, along with a few misfits like Bentley’s SUV and an electric Korean hatchback.

So, how fast does Lingenfelter’s mighty King of the Hill look after 25 years? Not too shabby, honestly! Even on outdated rubber, it’s 23.3 run would put all but three modern competitors in the rearview. Even the base C5’s time bests three of this year’s times, slotting it between a VW Golf R and the previously mentioned Bentayga S.

GM’s present-day entrants turned in some seriously impressive slips, too. The four-door Blackwing and its C7 Z06 heart stopped the clock in 24.7 seconds, good for fourth place overall, just .3 of a second off the GT3 RS’ time. The mid-engine Z06 was able to split the difference between the 911s. It registered a 22.5, putting almost two full clicks on the other road course slayer in the test. That leaves the twin-turbo, 640 horse AWD 911 Turbo S and its staggering 19.3 ET as the winner this time around. Hopefully the E Ray and ZR1 will get a chance to prove themselves, C&D even admitted, as good as the Z was, it wasn’t built for drag racing.

A quick aside at the end reveals a separate test of super-powered American EVs; the Tesla Model S Plaid, and the Lucid Air Sapphire. The benchmark Tesla makes 1,020 HP while the upstart Lucid brings an easy to remember, yet still eye-popping 1,234 ponies to the party. We can talk all day about range, weight, what happens when you introduce curves and a 12-24-hour clock, driver engagement, and the actual environmental impact of these plug-ins, but, in this test, these things are fully in their element. With no revving and 100% torque availability from the word “go,” Elon’s aging flagship sedan rips off a 9.7-second sprint to 150 MPH. That puts it 3.8 seconds ahead of the internal-combustion champion Porsche. Believe it or not, but the Sapphire is even quicker! It reaches 150 4.7 seconds before the 911 Turbo S. These significant head starts are enough to offset their portly curb weight-hindered stopping distances – which were about 100 feet longer than those of the best ICE cars. When the dust settled, the clock read 16.2 for the Plaid, and a new high-water mark of 15.5 seconds for the sled from Newark, CA.

To watch the Z06’s 0-150-0 mph run, click here.

Source:
Car and Driver

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