Wait, what? Corvette’s head of engineering says the ZR1X is *not* the final boss

Think the part-hybrid, part-savage ‘ZR1X’ is the ultimate form of the C8? Think again. Because Corvette chief engineer Tony Roma hinted there'll be even more to come from the mid-engined supercar.

“The backbone we’ve built into the C8 is proving to be super capable,” said Roma. “The things we’ve learned from creating the various models so far and the opportunities we have in the future with this chassis are incredible. The ZR1X is not the end of the story, it’s just the latest chapter. The team that works on it has a very ‘what can we do, and how can we do it?’ attitude. They see possibilities and not challenges.”

Interesting. It’s unlikely whatever work will be carried out on an even harder ZR1X would involve more power, given the 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 and front-mounted e-motor produce a combined 1,250bhp. That’s… a lot. Enough to get this thing from 0-60mph in under two seconds.

Roma confirmed the top speed hasn’t yet been tested, but said there’s no reason why the ZR1X won’t match the ZR1’s 233mph rating. But really, what is the point of all this speed and power in the first place?

“Speed is only relevant these days for bragging rights. For a car to have a certain amount of provenance, we have to offer a version of that car that’s capable of doing those silly numbers. The ZR1’s top speed attempt was not in expectation that our customers would ever repeat it, or even get remotely close, because you can’t legally do that.

“We had to go through a lot of testing to set that speed: travel to Papenburg, hire the track for three days, get a bunch of mechanics over and so on. But the fact that the car has proven it can do it is precisely why people buy cars like this. Having the crazy lap times and ridiculous acceleration is part of what makes these cars what they are.

“So I think we are going to continue to make the car faster for those bragging rights, because our customers appreciate that. It’s the same with any performance car manufacturer - we push each other with Nürburgring lap times for that reason.”

Ah yes, that place. During the UK launch of the softer Corvette E-Ray at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Ford was stationed right next door with its brutish, wide-bodied Mustang GTD. Its team even decided to give it a few revs during the E-Ray’s presentation for a bit of friendly fire - almost like a pre-match mind game from José Mourinho.

The GTD is currently the fastest-ever American car around the Green Hell with a time of 6m 52.072s, and that’s surely got to be the target for the ZR1X.

“We’ve done some testing, and all I can say is… stay tuned. We want to be the fastest American car - that’s an accolade we’d love to have. Again, it comes down to theory. None of our customers will go and run a sub-seven-minute lap time, but they want to know if they could.”

Game on.