AUTONEWS
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is the new Pikes Peak
The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is a beast, and now it has another record to its name. This past weekend, the monstrous 1,267-horsepower supercar became the fastest production model at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
JR Hildebrand was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X (2027) and drove up the 20-kilometer course with 156 turns and a 1,440-meter climb. It’s a very challenging ride, and Hildebrand finished the race in 9:30.104.
The ZR1X competed in the Hybrid Production class and used a factory exhaust system, as well as Michelin Cup 2R tires from the ZTK Performance package. Hildebrand described it as a car that “you could literally buy in a Chevrolet showroom,” but there are still some minor modifications to meet racing regulations.
The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X features a 5.5-liter V8 engine paired with a front-mounted electric motor. This hybrid system gives it all-wheel drive and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in an incredible 1.89 seconds when equipped with the ZTK Performance Package.
This year’s 104th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb saw plenty of spectacle and unique builds, but one of the most impressive feats came from a stock machine. IndyCar veteran JR Hildebrand hammered out a new production car record of 9 minutes, 30.104 seconds behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X.
The effort seemingly arrived one year later than expected, after the C8’s non-hybrid ZR1 variant launched in 2024 with press imagery shot on the iconic mountainside. In fact, Hildebrand himself recognized the scene, and fired off missives to everyone he knew at General Motors inquiring after a seat. Tony Roma, GM's executive chief engineer for global Corvette and Performance Cars, explained the delay as an attempt to differentiate the ZR1 and ZR1X with contrasting entries at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and Pikes Peak.
“We talked about running the ZR1 last year,” Roma said. “Really, the ZR1X is a better match to the mountain. The electrification, with 186 horsepower, is still there all the way up to the top of the hill. Even though our turbochargers do a really, really good job of compensating, it doesn't quite make up for that much.”
The ZR1X's differences over its more conventional sibling prove advantageous at the Colorado peak. The mountain’s tight hairpins reward all-wheel-drive traction provided by the ZR1X’s twin-turbo V-8 and front electric motor, while air density drops by about 40 percent at the 14,115-foot summit finish line, choking internal-combustion engines of precious oxygen compared to sea level. Hence the longstanding overall Pikes Peak record of 7:57.148, still held by Romain Dumas and Volkswagen's fully electric ID.R prototype.
“First run, as a sighting lab, you could just tell, ‘Holy shit, this is just a completely different animal,’” he laughed. Comparing sector times through early tire testing mornings, the ZR1X easily gapped Donner, who had returned in the Turbo S. “I've been really impressed throughout the whole process of running the car, how much we've been able to just treat it like a race car,” Hildebrand said. “I don't think I've ever driven a car that has this type of setup, this type of system going on, that's so well integrated.”
Testing proved Chevy’s race day strategy correct: Endurance mode to save battery charge for the higher elevations, instead relying on the massive turbos to push 24 psi of boost through the lower sections. Doing so also allowed regenerative braking to warm up the ZR1X’s relatively diminutive 1.9-kilowatt-hour battery. Then, once oxygen starvation began to affect ICE output, Hildebrand started using the push-to-pass e-boost button as much as possible. All throughout, he kept the MagneRide suspension dampers in Track mode, and even (surprisingly) admitted to keeping the traction control activated—albeit at the lowest setting—to keep the hybrid powertrain happiest.
“I'm certain that it's helping to generate performance, to be running it with some traction control assistance,” he said. “We're not really tweaking on stuff that much ... we ended up spending an entire three days of testing, all just back-to-backing little alignment changes because we were getting really good reads.”
By the time Hildebrand took the green flag on one of the best mornings of weather in recent Pikes Peak memory, most spectators had already shed their jackets and beanies. Two spots earlier in the starting order, Donner had almost exactly mimicked his non-race day record with a 9:53.740 time. The Corvette team gathered anxiously during the run, frustrated as the leaderboard failed to show the first two sector splits, until Hildebrand reached the summit and the official "9:30.104" appeared on the screen. Pent-up anxiety was unleashed in a cheer rife with more than a healthy dose of relief.
A new record easily in hand, then—and yet, lingering questions. Technically, Hildebrand and the ZR1X won the Time Attack category. Pikes Peak does not include a dedicated “production car” class, and does not (almost cannot, given the hybrid complexity) certify how bone-stock the ZR1X actually arrived on race day. It came stripped and caged, with a race seat, fire suppression system, and kill switches, although the dash and steering wheel at least looked original. But a closer glance at the VIN number revealed the last two digits “EX,” indicating one of Chevrolet’s pre-production cars. The 10-gallon fuel cell in the trunk also only held the perfect amount of fuel to actually reach the summit. The original saddleback tank was blocked off rather than removed, though—so if anything, the additional cell added precious pounds. (Though in a good place for traction...)
Meanwhile, in the Unlimited and Open classes, Dumas and Ford set the third-best time ever of 8:18.202 in the fully electric Super Mustang Mach-E. Four-time King of the Mountain Robin Shute and last year’s winner Simone Faggioli both struggled with reliability in their ICE hill climb specials. And Emelia Hartford entered her own Corvette ZR1 and managed to earn the Queen of the Mountain title as the fastest woman to ever reach the peak on four wheels.
Despite running her own program, Hartford still accepted a bit of help from the Chevrolet team. “I don't think there's anything like Pikes Peak that you can really prepare for,” she explained. “I did have a little bit of an overheating issue, and the engineers were very quick to help me understand what was causing it, and they gave me some data on the best alignment they recommended for the car. So although I wasn't officially a Chevrolet driver and I didn't have the Corvette team at full like JR did, I did appreciate their positive support for me on the mountain with my own personal vehicle.”
Should Hartford’s ZR1 have competed against Donner in the Porsche, while the ZR1X entered separately in a special hybrid production class? Clearly, fitting every kind of wild car that arrives to race up Pikes Peak into a specific class would present the organization with a challenge. But that’s what makes this race so unique. What’s not in doubt: the ZR1X’s time will likely stand for a while.
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