Chevy Corvette ZR1 Drags Caddy CTS-V and McLaren 720S, Results Are Quite Surprising

Indeed, the summer is not yet ripe with major introductions – we're gearing up for the Monterey Car Week, which is where the main attractions will reside – but the few ones that have already perspired hold massive weight. The little Maverick may be a unibody compact pickup truck, but it's the niche sector's best-selling nameplate, nevertheless.

As for the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the official presentation on July 25 was the culmination of about half a decade of rumors, renderings, and spy shots. It comes complete with massive downforce when equipped with the ZTK package, a 5.5-liter twin-turbo flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine, and no less than 1,064 horsepower – making some people think that this is the actual flagship, not the upcoming Zora.

Well, with everyone's attention on the ZR1, it's no wonder that even the older C7 generation is back into focus as the 755-hp supercharged Corvette still has the power to pull a few surprises at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. For example, the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube is enjoying a ZR1 versus the world stint at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

This auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, about 10 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, has seen a lot of action since 1960, of course. This time around, a C7 Chevy Corvette ZR1 equipped with all the aerodynamic bells and whistles came out, trying to impress the audience. Its first skirmish was against a black Cadillac CTS-V sedan, and it was a battle for the GM ages.

More precisely, both racers had a great start off the line, with a subtle advantage for the ZR1. They were neck-in-neck for the entire duration of the skirmish, but the Caddy achieved a higher trap speed and apparently bettered the ZR1 with a 9.99s versus 10.07s ET. However, as it turns out, the track's electronic lights signaled the Chevy was the actual, surprising winner.

After this narrow loss turned into a legal win, the C7 Chevrolet ZR1 tried to fry an even bigger fish – a fully-fledged McLaren 720S supercar. Again, the Corvette took off like a rocket, and the British supercar was relegated to trying to catch up to it with help from a superior 145 mph versus 139 mph trap speed. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, and the second surprise came into effect: 9.7s for Chevy and 9.88s for McLaren. So, what do you think? If a C7 can deliver high nines, will the all-new C8 ZR1 drop into the eights with so much more power at its disposal?