[VIDEO] Top Gear Takes the C8 Corvette ZR1 and Mustang GTD to the Track!

Dec 23, 2025

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[VIDEO] Top Gear Takes the C8 Corvette ZR1 and Mustang GTD to the Track!

The media wing of the UK’s Top Gear magazine recently sent Jack Rix and Jethro Bovingdon stateside to sample the latest and greatest wares from the “2” of America’s “Big 2.5” automakers at the new Ten Tenths Motor Club in the heart of NASCAR country, Charlotte, North Carolina. With the domestic wing of the still awkward-sounding French-Italian-American conglomerate, Stellantis, not fielding a worthy competitor since the mighty Viper bowed out in 2017, that, of course, left Ford and GM to duke it out with the ultimate expressions of their most iconic models: the Corvette ZR1 and the Mustang GTD.

Even though both sleds debuted as 2025 models, it feels like they’ve been doing battle for ages. We’ve seen multiple professional and amateur comparison tests over the last year, and on the private side, the Super ‘Stang’s success finally pushed GM to tout Nürburgring times for the first time since 2012 – a move that forever intertwined the two high-end Americans that go about being wickedly fast in entirely different ways.

Similar to the process that Caroll Shelby perfected to turn Ford’s “secretary car” into a legitimate performer in the ’60s, each GTD starts life as a run-of-the-mill Mustang that is then shipped to the Formula1 suspension gurus at Multimatic in Canada rather than Ol’ Shel’s shop in California. Once north of the border, GTDs are stripped and refitted with carbon fiber body panels that engorge the width of each car by more than six inches, allowing for massive 325 Cup 2 R (the same spec GM uses for Z07 and ZTK ‘Vettes) rubber out front and even larger 345s out back. To fit the same transaxle used in the Corvette, GTDs also get specialized rear tube frames. Power comes from an upgraded version of the 5.2L “Predator” V8 from the previous-gen GT500 that now makes 815 ponies and 664 lb-ft, while carbon ceramic brakes handle deceleration. The whole enterprise comes with a shocking $325,000 MSRP before pricy options like magnesium wheels are even considered.

Our dog in the fight is the 1,064-horsepower monster under the bed of the entire supercar segment; the C8 ZR1. It makes its extraordinary power with a giant pair of turbos fitted to a 5.5L flat-plane V8 that not only puts a 249 HP gap on the ‘Stang, but it revs higher and produces 164 more torques (828 lb-ft) along the way as well. While the GTD takes the downforce (1,900 lbs. max vs. 1,200) and contact patch (the ZR1 also has 345s in back, but its fronts are only 275s) crowns, but the ZR1’s trump card is weight. While TG tries to confuse viewers by quoting vehicle mass in kilograms – which should be illegal when discussing Mustangs and Corvettes – and using the ZR1’s dry weight like it’s a Ferrari or something, the fact of the matter is this: the most powerful RWD Corvette ever made is far from a featherweight at 3,885 lbs., but the GTD is still nearly 550 lbs., or 14.1% heavier, with a prodigious fighting weight of 4,432 lbs.

So, the Corvette comes into the video with more power and less weight, which, along with its optimized engine placement add up to a significant edge in traditional performance testing. According to the publication of record on this side of the pond, Car and Driver, the ZR1 sprints to 60 in just 2.2 seconds, 100 MPH in 4.5 seconds, and 130 in 7.1 on its way to a blazing 9.5-second quarter mile at 149 MPH. The GTD falls behind immediately, taking 2.8 to hit 60, 6.1 for 100, and by 130, its nearly 3 ticks behind with a 10.0. The quarter is dispatched just 3 MPH later, after 10.6 seconds of elapsed time. The kicker, though, and we keep harping on this during these tests, is that while it does literally nothing as well as the ZR1, the GTD is effectively double the cost of its Corvette rival, which starts under $200k and is challenging to option past $230,000. Even with dealer markups (which are fading fast), a well-optioned ZR1 can be had with a $100,000 discount to a GTD purchased at MSRP.

We don’t want to take away clicks from the absolutely stunning video, but other than top-notch visuals, here’s what you can expect when you hit play: There are introductions for both cars. Engineering teams and racks of fresh tires are on hand to ensure peak numbers and fairness. Mr. Rix has a segment where he dresses as “an American” with the humorous pairing of a Kobe Bryant jersey, a cowboy hat, and two foam #1 fingers that play a big part in the eventual verdict.

In addition to his trademark sliding around for the camera (the ZR1 gets some outstanding hero shots drifting at dusk while shooting flames), Jethro – the most British auto-journo imaginable – gets serious and sets a pair of ‘lap records’ on the 1.7-mile course before expressing a profound understanding of the American Dream that seemed to escape our guys at the Savage Geese channel when they had these cars out with the 911 GT3 RS recently. Speaking of the big-winged Porsche, we’ll conclude our little write-up by mentioning it as the pair’s Euro comp for the GTD. The ZR1? It was likened to the Ferrari of the moment, the 296 Speciale. We’ll take it!