Corvette ZR1 Test Cars Caught on Film with a Hellcat Challenger

A YouTube account with the name David Wesel posted a video yesterday showing a large group of high performance cars pulling out of an Ohio gas station and the most notable cars among this group were a pair of camouflaged Corvette test cars which are almost certainly the next ZR1 – or whatever Chevrolet opts to name the package above the current Z06. This video shows a handful of what we believe to be Corvette ZR1 test cars along with a few current Corvette Z06 models, a Jaguar F Type and a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.

In my opinion, what David Wesel caught on film was General Motors doing some comparison testing with key rivals, with the Jaguar being a great matchup in terms of the overall driving experience and the Hellcat Challenger being the most powerful American car to which they can compare these Corvette test cars.

Our Best Look at the Corvette ZR1 Test Cars
The most important vehicles in this video are the first Corvette to pull out of the gas station and the two Corvettes directly in front of the camera when the video begins – all of which have the familiar black and white checkered camouflage. The first and car onto the road and the one closest to the camera have a huge rear wing, and the car closest to the camera appears to have a very prominent lower front fascia area under the thick, black material spread across the front end. I don’t believe that the front end of the current Corvette Z06 would stick out so dramatically and we know that the Z06 doesn’t have a rear spoiler like this one, so it seems that these are all higher performance models than the Z06. It is expected that this car will be called the ZR1, but that is still unclear.

In addition to the cars with the huge rear wings, there is a third camouflaged Corvette with a smaller rear spoiler which appears to be similar to the cars with the larger wing. I expect that GM is testing two different rear spoiler designs, with either the option for the owner to swap from the smaller wing to the bigger unit for track days or the bigger wing is part of some even higher performance package.

Finally, with the hoods, fenders and rear quarter panels covered, I expect that these Corvette ZR1 test cars have more pronounced wheel well openings and a hood that sits a little higher in the middle.

The Other Cars
Between these Corvette ZR1 test cars is a pair of current Corvette Z06 models for comparison (one coupe and one convertible) and behind the last ZR1 are two interesting non-GM performance cars, with the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Jaguar F Type R. The F Type seems like an odd choice to me for a comparison to even the Corvette Z06, as the Jag has a massive disadvantage in power, but the 707hp Hellcat Challenger makes perfect sense.(More on Page 2)

Since the Hellcat Challenger hit the scene, Dodge has been bragging about having the most powerful performance car in the American market, but it is widely expected that the Corvette ZR1 will claim that title. In this case, it appears as though GM is driving the Challenger along with several high end Corvettes, presumably to see how the on-road characteristics compare.

Or maybe they were all headed to a race track to do some benchmark testing with the Hellcat Challenger and F Type, but Marietta, Ohio seems like an odd place for GM to do track testing.

In any case, in addition to giving us a great look at the Corvette ZR1 test cars up close, we also get to hear them drive away. None of them really crank into the throttle, but even at these relatively low speeds, we can hear the distinct grumble of the next super-Vette.

Image captured from the video linked here.