2026 Corvette ZR1 With 1064 HP Beats McLaren Senna To Set Lightning Lap Record

GM's 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 ran rings around the competition at Car and Driver's Lightning Lap at the Virginia International Raceway, clocking a 2:34.2 lap time to become the fastest production car in the publication's history. The time shaves nearly a second off the long-standing record held by the $1 million McLaren Senna, as the King of the Hill has effectively bridged the gap between blue-collar performance (term used loosely, considering its not insignificant starting price) and seven-figure hypercar dominance.

Of course, this achievement isn't just about raw power, though the ZR1 has plenty of it. Beneath the rear glass sits a 5.5-liter LT7 twin-turbocharged flat-plane-crank V8, producing 1,064 horses and 828 lb-ft of torque. During its record-breaking run on VIR’s 4.1-mile Grand Course, the ZR1 hit 179 mph on the front straight and maintained a record-setting 141.2 mph ...