[VIDEO] Grand Finale: C8 Corvette ZR1X Drags and Roll Races a Ferrari SF90

One of the most eye-popping moments of the C8 Corvette’s development came almost exactly two years ago when GM was caught benchmarking the then-upcoming ZR1 against the fastest and most expensive Ferrari available at the time-the SF90 Stradale. Common and historical knowledge had everyone thinking the highest a ‘Vette could possibly punch in the global exotic-car hierarchy meant tangling with 911 GT2 RSs and “mid-grade” Ferraris/McLarens, but the top-tier stuff from the F40/959 to the Enzo/Carrera GT and eventually the semi-recent triumvirate of LaFerrari/918/P1 was untouchable for the humble sled from Kentucky – or anything else, for that matter.

When the still-camouflaged twin-turbo C8 started stepping out with an SF90 dance partner, it signified that things were about to change; America’s Sports Car had already become a legitimate supercar with the introduction of the Z06, but it was about to make the jump into the rarified air of the hypercar.

The SF90 is the C5 Z06 of high-end Ferraris in the sense that it strived to bring the performance of a heralded predecessor to a wider audience. Like the LaFerrari, the SF90 made use of hybridization. Instead of the latter’s free-breathing V12, though, the ICE portion of its powertrain is a twin-turbo 4.0L V8, which allows it to make 37 more horsepower than its now-$5 million predecessor with 986 total system HP.

It also rewrote Ferrari’s rulebook by sending power to all four wheels; a party trick that it leveraged to become the quickest production vehicle ever tested by Car and Driver. It did all of this starting around half of a million dollars in 2021, which is still an insane amount of money, but when compared to the original $1.4 million MSRP of the LaFerrari, could easily be seen as a bargain.

How could a mass-produced car built for the successful end of the working-class ever compete with this Italian embodiment of the term “Blue Chip?” Well, the biggest turbos ever fitted to a production car were a good start that allowed the C8 ZR1 to handily out-muscle any of the cars mentioned above already. Throw in its own take on the performance hybrid playbook popularized by the LaFerrari and its competitors a decade ago, and you’re looking at a fully warrantied 1,250-horse factory effort from GM with the added benefit of an over 50% discount on the already ‘cut-rate’ SF90 and the ability to be serviced at just about any of the 2,865 Chevy dealerships operating around the USA, and the overhyped, overpriced Euro go-fast establishment has a bona fide problem on its hands.

How much of a problem? Let’s head back to the scorching-hot Arizona desert for the Drag Times ZR1X matchup we’ve been waiting for since Brooks started his content time-release with the Bugatti video at the end of May. First, to recap for those of you who only watched the first video in this series before losing interest when the cars in the other lane became uninspiring EVs; the heat south of Phoenix has been a big variable, as we’ve seen the X fall behind those less-affected (and, in one case, heavily modified) electrics, but the playing field is back to even with the Ferrari following an almost identical blueprint to the ultimate ‘Vette.

The videos feature regular drag races and roll races, and while we won’t spoil any of the results, it’s strangely satisfying to see the hosts argue over who got to pilot the Corvette because neither of them wanted to be stuck in the crummy Ferrari with its claimed out-the-door bottom-line in excess of $700,000. Were they right to shun the quote, unquote “nicer” car? Hit play below to find out!

Source:
DragTimes / YouTube

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[VIDEO] C8 Corvette ZR1X Finally Gets in the Octagon with a Bugatti, Easily Rises to the Challenge!

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