AUTONEWS

Indy 500: The 1,064-HP Reason Why Alex Palou Wins the Indianapolis 500

Although not as well-known as others, one of the traditions of the Indianapolis 500 is that the race winner receives, as one of the prizes, the keys to the car that serves as the Pace Car for each edition. And for the 109th edition, which will be held on May 25th, that car will be a real treat.

Today it was officially announced that the car in charge of guiding the 33 single-seaters competing in the race to the green flag will be the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, nothing less than the fastest version in the 72-year history of the legendary American sports car.

It's no surprise that a Corvette is the car chosen to perform the Pace Car duties, as this American muscle car has been present on 22 previous occasions, out of the 35 in which Chevrolet has been the brand chosen for the task.

It's no surprise considering its explosive 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 engine produces a whopping 1,064 horsepower, the highest figure ever achieved by a Corvette. A hypercar that accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds and reaches a whopping 233 mph, or 375 km/h.

Such a spectacular top speed that it's not actually that far from what IndyCar cars achieve in Superspeedway configuration (last year's average pole speed was 234.220 mph... just a little more than the top speed of the Corvette).

A prize of 150,000 euros... Although the winner of the 500 Miles will pocket a sum exceeding two million dollars, the Corvette ZR1, a model valued at 173,300 dollars, about 152,000 euros at the current exchange rate, is also quite a bonus.

The Corvette ZR1 Pace Car will be equipped with one of the "goodies" that Chevrolet offers to customers of its most charismatic model, the Carbon Aero package, which includes three important aerodynamic elements: the flaps on the front bumper, the underbody skirts, and the enormous rear spoiler. Together, this version generates no less than 544 kilograms of downforce at top speed.

The ZR1 Pace Car is painted in the usual Arctic White and decorated with the Indy 500 logos in green and gold, while the interior upholstery is black. But without a doubt one of the most striking elements are the spectacular black carbon rims.

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