GM Did Not Think the C8 Corvette ZR1 Could Reach 233 MPH

With a top speed of 233 mph, the C8-generation Corvette ZR1 is now the fastest General Motors product ever. The number was a surprise to just about everyone, well above the "at least" 215 mph the company originally claimed when the car was revealed. The car's development team was surprised by the number, too.

The car "actually overachieved" his team's expectations, Corvette ZR1 Lead Development Engineer Chris Barber said, according to a blog posted by GM following the top-speed announcement on Tuesday. The car was originally developed with a top speed target of 220 mph in mind, a bar that eventually moved to 230 mph after the car's ridiculously powerful LT7 engine exceeded expectations in early testing. When the car was actually put to the test, it beat that benchmark, too.

Barber says that his team "actually didn't think 233 was in the cards" until the car actually hit that number during a real-world test at Germany's ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg. Not only did the car reach that number on the test track's 50-degree banked oval, GM President Mark Reuss was able to do the honors himself.

While Reuss completed the record run, Barber also broke the 230-mph barrier in another attempt. Surprisingly, he describes it as a fairly uneventful experience, adding that "it just feels like you’re going pretty fast on the highway." Thanks to a 1064-hp twin-turbocharged V-8, a stable 230 mph in a straight line is simply what the ZR1 does.

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