I have posted on two different concepts C8s - Here is the last one for street and track
Chevy gave car enthusiasts and racing fans a glimpse of the high-performance future. Two Corvette concept cars, the Corvette CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo, debuted at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering. While not intended for production, the pair will serve as inspiration to inform Corvette design language for years to come. Drawing on more than 70 years of performance innovation, these Corvette concepts honor the heritage of America’s sports car1 and propel it into the future.
The CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo are the latest and last of several Corvette concepts to be revealed this year, as part of a GM design exercise which involved multiple GM studios globally. The CX concepts were designed and fabricated at the Chevrolet Performance Studio in Warren, MI.
“While the shape of a Corvette has always been expressive and forward-looking, each crease and line has its roots in the generations that came before it. It is aspirational, it is cultural, it is the reason people want to come and work at Chevrolet,” said Phil Zak, executive design director for Chevrolet. “The CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo demonstrate our design teams stepping away from the constraints of production vehicles and unleashing their creativity. Through this exercise, we’ve added to Corvette and defined the design direction for Corvette moving forward.”
Corvette CX Concept: Unmistakably Corvette, made for street and track Imagine a future Corvette designed from the ground up to provide the ultimate high-performance driving experience on the open road or the racetrack. This was the inspiration behind the Corvette CX concept.
The CX concept design starts with quintessential Corvette hallmarks. The forward-lunging nose, the pronounced horizontal “chine” line delineating the upper and lower bodywork, and the dual-element taillights are all signature features of Corvette models past and present. The proportions are long, low, and sleek, with a roofline less than 41 inches high.
Aggressively futuristic, yet unquestionably a Corvette, the CX concept shows what an uncompromised future sports car can be. The athletic exterior design, highlighted by the fighter-jet-inspired cockpit canopy, isn’t just about looking powerful, it was shaped in collaboration with the GM Motorsports Aero Group. Every angle was designed with ultimate performance in mind.
The innovations continue underneath the skin with the Vacuum Fan System. Built-in fans draw air through the open-channel bodywork, generating massive downforce and adjusting the airflow over the rear diffuser to refine aerodynamic balance in real-time. The front diffuser and rear wing are both active, adjusting automatically in response to the driver’s inputs to generate maximum grip. The integrated understructure of the CX concept is visible through the aero channels in the bodywork, and the suspension A-arms are wing-shaped to enhance airflow and reduce front-end lift.
The CX concept’s propulsion system was chosen to provide maximum design freedom, plus ultimate straight-line performance to complement the corner carving enabled by fan-driven downforce and active aero.
The CX concept is an all-wheel-drive electric supercar with a propulsion system worthy of the Corvette name. Four motors, one powering each wheel, generate more than 2,000 horsepower, with four-wheel torque vectoring for maximum grip and cornering performance. The 90-kWh lithium-ion battery is mounted in the chassis for a low center of gravity and ideal front-rear weight distribution.
On the inside, every aspect of the CX concept was designed to provide an unmatched driving experience. The forward-opening fighter-jet-style canopy automatically raises as you approach. Driver and passenger settle into seating finished in Inferno Red ballistic textile, bolstered to help hold occupants in place during high-g cornering maneuvers. Premium silicone leather, milled aluminum, and low-gloss forged carbon fiber accents give an elevated feel to the driver-focused cabin.
The digital windscreen transforms the windshield into an immersive surround display with real-time performance data. Every major control is elegantly integrated into the steering wheel, keeping the driver’s focus on the road ahead.
Corvette CX.R Vision Gran Turismo: Future-focused, and inspired by racing pedigree
For more than 25 years, the Corvette road car program has been accompanied by a championship-caliber Corvette Racing competition program. This close relationship between road car and racecar isn’t just a source of pride for Corvette fans, it helps further the technical learnings that can be shared across both realms.
True to Chevrolet’s performance DNA, the design team created a Corvette CX concept exclusively for track competition. The CX.R Vision Gran Turismo imagines the future of Corvette GT racing, a future gamers will be able to drive in Gran Turismo 7.
The CX.R VGT racecar embodies Corvette’s history while looking to the future of automotive performance. The familiar yellow and black color scheme honors the Corvette GT racecars of the past 25 years. Designers took CX’s athletic exterior and ramped up the aggression for CX.R VGT with more prominent active aero features and a lower ride height for racetrack-dominating downforce and grip. Weight has been reduced across the car to further emphasize the all-out focus on performance.
Inside, the touring-inspired surfaces and materials of CX have been replaced by functional, high-performance appointments. The dashboard consists of lightweight raw carbon fiber weave, and the seating uses suede-wrapped foam inserts for grip and support where the driver needs it. The seats themselves have larger, much more aggressive shoulder and headrest pads to provide the head and neck support necessary with the intense handling capabilities CX.R VGT could deliver.
Building off the propulsion template set by the Corvette CX concept, the CX.R VGT combines electrified performance with the thrill of a high-revving V8 engine. The mid-mounted 2.0-liter dual-overhead-cam twin-turbo V8 makes up to 900 horsepower and revs to 15,000 rpm.
Powered by renewable e-fuel, this V8 drives the rear wheels through an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. Three electric motors, one for each front wheel, plus a third incorporated into the 8-speed gearbox – provide instant torque for jaw-dropping acceleration and contribute to a total system output of 2,000 hp. Experience the future vision of Corvette in Gran Turismo 7
The Corvette CX and CX.R VGT aren’t just inspirational stage displays. In partnership with Chevrolet performance engineers, the Corvette design team created detailed blueprints for the chassis, drivetrain, and aerodynamic features of both the CX and CX.R VGT concepts. Working with Polyphony Digital Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Chevrolet will make both the road going CX and the CX.R VGT racecar concepts available for fans to drive virtually in Gran Turismo 7 later this month, giving new and familiar audiences a chance to experience firsthand the future of Corvette design.
During the late evening hours on Friday, August 8th, it’s being reported that two Corvettes were stolen from the Corvette Assembly Plant. These were two ZR1s according to plant spokesperson Rachel Bagshaw. Both cars have been recovered.
“The Kentucky State Police, Bowling Green Police Department, and Warren County Sheriff’s Office were swift in their response and successfully located both vehicles,” Bagshaw said. “We are grateful for the support and partnership with all law enforcement involved.” The Bowling Green Police Department said one Corvette was recovered in Bowling Green, while the other was located three hours away in Martin County, Indiana. Neither car was damaged, but the one in Bowling Green was spike stripped during the pursuit.
Police also confirmed the arrest of 20-year-old Daedrin Cool who was booked into the Warren County Regional Jail at 3:45 am Saturday. His charges include engaging in organized crime, first degree fleeing or evading police, first degree wanton endangerment, theft by unlawful taking of an automobile, first degree criminal mischief, tampering with physical evident and obscuring the identity of a machine of $10,000 or more.
An accomplice who drove the Orange Corvette ZR1 was being sought by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. They posted this on Facebook:
***** UPDATE 11:15 AM ***** It is believed that Smith is no longer in the Loogootee/Martin County area. We ask that you check all garages and out buildings to confirm that a vehicle or mode of transportation was not stolen from your property.
*** ATTEMPT TO LOCATE ***
ATTEMPT TO LOCATE: DENNIS T. SMITH, A 26 YEAR OLD BLACK MALE, 5’8″ TALL, 155 POUNDS, LAST SEEN WEARING A BLACK SKI MASK.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in an attempt to locate the black male described above. He was last seen in the Loogootee area near Pizza Junction after a vehicle pursuit and crash. He is considered to be armed and dangerous. If located, do not attempt to approach him, call 911.
Having read through the different reports, the two Corvettes stolen were painted in Sebring Orange and Arctic White.
The White ZR1 was recovered in Bowling Green, and a Michigan man in a black Cadillac has been detained as part of the pursuit. She mentions at one point that speeds from the Orange Corvette reached 180 MPH which again seems to confirm that they were ZR1s that were taken.
Pricing of a 2025 Corvette ZR1 on the flipping market happening already
The first ZR1 flipped last month. That car was VIN 044 which was delivered to a California dealer, and one week later it was offered for sale at an exotic car dealership in New York with a selling price of $450,000. Now we got another flip with a 2025 Corvette ZR1 Convertible offered at the dealer-only Manheim auction in Atlanta.
This 2025 Corvette ZR1 is VIN 052 in Sea Wolf Gray with an Adrenaline Red dipped interior, and it was originally delivered to J.B.A. Chevrolet in Glen Burnie, MD with an MSRP of $223,045. The Window Sticker on this ZR1 shows it was a high wing car with the $8,495 Carbon Aero package, and it also featured Front Lift ($2,595), Level 2 Carbon Fiber Interior ($4,995), Carbon Fiber Sill Plates ($1,995), Visible Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps ($1,250), 20-Spoke Carbon Flash Wheels ($995) and Bright Red Brake Calipers ($695). The options go on from there as well and totaled $26,850.
Interestingly, one of those options was a custom interior plaque for $295 which is something you don’t usually order if you’re planning on flipping the car. Perhaps the seller may have had intentions when getting the car, but had to sell it do to circumstances.
As for this flipped Corvette ZR1, it will be offered by another dealer, and can’t wait to see what kind of selling price they will be asking on a car they paid $391,000 for.
Unfortunately for the next real owner, this car will be sold without the manufacturer’s warranty as per GM’s anti-flipping rules. However, as mentioned, we don’t know the status of the original buyer who ordered this car as it could have been a Dealer Stock Order which for some crazy reason that GM allowed.
If this was a dealer stock order, GM should tell J.B.A Chevrolet in Glen Burnie, MD to go F themselves on any future ZR1 high performance Corvette allocations, but of course we know that would never happen. Had this been a customer car that was flipped, that customer would not be able to order any future in-demand Corvettes.
It looks like the reserve was set for $370,000 as the live chat shows the seller saying the car will be sold after the $370K bid. The winning bidder was Status Auto Group in New York with their bid of $391,000. And yes, they are the same exotic dealer that sold the other flipped ZR1 for $450K.
The C8 ZR1 line at BGP was slated to start early in the calendar year, but it did so with a 100% constraint on carbon fiber parts, and with nearly 70% of buyers having their hearts set on the “big wing” version, Chevy was forced to pull all orders and start fresh after working behind the scenes to source an adequate amount of the sweet weaved stuff.
By mid-June, a total of 310 orders had been accepted for production, but with time running out before the changeover to the 2026 model year, the Chevy brand had to again pull the rug out from under several buyers of its most expensive car in history, announcing that it would be unable to fulfill all 310 allocations.
As of June 30th, staring down the barrel of a two-week shutdown for the 4th of July, only 65 examples had been completed. That left 19 workdays before the scheduled August 4th start date for 2026s. At an average of two cars per day, we’re going to be in the ballpark of 100 units, about one third of what we originally reported for the inaugural model year.
The law of supply and demand dictates that these hundred-or-so ZR1s especially nicely-spec’d ones like the Trenary example should command a premium over MSRP, and so far at least one dealer has cashed in on the early frenzy, but Additional Dealership Markups (ADMs) have proven to be a double-edged sword as a one-way ticket to shame, ridicule, and even customer black-balling during the life and times of the C8 Corvette.
Chevrolet dealerships, particularly ones outside the top 20 have had to walk a tightrope between maximizing profit on their limited allocations and incurring the wrath of customers and possibly sanctions from General Motors.
Thus, the genius of the suburban St. Louis (the original home of the Corvette) dealership! It’s hard to hold a grudge when Jim and Co. wanted to sell at MSRP before a few ravenous clients got into a bidding war, isn’t it? The only fair way for them to settle this is to offer it to whoever is willing to pay the biggest price.
The only way it could be more brilliant is if they “pulled a Porsche” and also required the lucky winner to buy several less desirable models to earn the right to call themselves a ZR1 owner. So, what’ll it cost to get in on the action and throw your hat in the ring while #28 is still up for grabs? There are different sums all over the place, but, as of writing, the highest one was on Autotrader, where the current bid is listed at a cool $410,000.
The current count is 108 ZR1s completed for 2025 (with maybe 2-4 still to be completed or have been completed and not yet reported). Been stated that of those original 310 orders, there were 101 that were bumped to the 2026 model year already. But that leaves around 99 ZR1 orders from those initial 310 orders that are still in limbo.
And finally, another component to the 2026 model year is the Build & Buy Configurator on Chevrolet.com, which still hasn’t been made public yet.
It’s bad enough that early 2026 customers didn’t have access to the Configurator for building their dream cars, and even now after the first 2026 models have rolled off the assembly line, customers still can’t use the configurator for building and pricing the 2026 Corvette. Although Chevrolet simply said “August 2025” for the arrival of the 2026 configurator, we’ve heard that it could be coming as early as sometime this week, so let’s hope that happens.
So in short, 2025 ZR1s built less than 200 and BGP has started building the 2026 MY C8s
GM Executive Vice President and President of Global Markets Rory Harvey has confirmed on LinkedIn that the C8 Corvette Stingray is launching in Singapore, adding another market to the availability of the right-hand-drive version of the C8. This is the first time the Corvette has been officially available in Singapore.
“From Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Orchard Road, Singapore – an American performance car icon is set to win new hearts in a new market,” Harvey said. “Today, General Motors launched the Corvette in Singapore, starting with the Stingray.”
By saying the Corvette launch in Singapore is “starting with the Stingray,” GM implies that more Corvette variants will be gradually introduced to the market. Singapore may eventually get all five C8 variants, from the Stingray to the ZR1X. However, they’ll likely be in low volumes.
So, why is Singapore a good fit for Corvette? “As home to one of Formula 1’s most memorable races, Singapore has a reputation for valuing spirited driving, leading-edge technology, and quality craftsmanship, which the Corvette Stingray delivers in spades,” Harvey said.
The C8 Corvette Stingray photos in Rory Harvey’s LinkedIn post appear to show a 2025 model, judging by the infotainment screen. Harvey didn’t give a specific timeline or model year for the Corvette’s launch in Singapore, but it will most likely arrive in the country as a pre-refreshed 2025 model.
Meanwhile, every 2026 Corvette is equipped with a new digital interface with a trio of screens, including a 12.7-inch center touchscreen, a 14-inch digital Driver Information Center, and a 6.6-inch auxiliary passenger-side touchscreen. These displays run Google built-in and support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, all while delivering sharper graphics across multiple drive modes (Tour, Sport, and Track) and serving up key performance metrics such as speed, RPM, and G-forces.
All C8 models ride on the GM Y2 platform, and assembly takes place at the Bowling Green plant in Kentucky. We expect the USDM 2026 Chevy Corvette’s online configurator to go live sometime in August.
The Corvette ZR1X dethroned the Ford Mustang GTD (Costs over $300,000) as the fastest American car at the 'Ring. Ford's CEO isn't being quiet about it.
The Ford Mustang GTD only held the record for the fastest American car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife for a little over 7 months. Ford announced a 6:57.685 lap back in December, and bettered it with a 6:52.07 a few months later, but Chevrolet just took the crown with the Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X. Ford's response? "Game on."
That came directly from CEO Jim Farley, who replied, "congrats to the Corvette team. Game on!" on an Instagram post from the official Corvette page. The Drive was the first to bring our attention to Farley's comment.
Ford could go back to the 'Ring with the Mustang GTD, but that car is at somewhat of a disadvantage to the ZR1 and ZR1X. The Mustang GTD weighs over 4,300 pounds based on EPA documents that Road & Track reported on back in February, while Car and Driver measured the ZR1 at 3,831 pounds. Chevy hasn't revealed a weight figure for the ZR1X, but it's reasonable to expect it to eclipse the 4,000-pound mark.
The Mustang GTD has 815 horsepower, which is a lot, but the ZR1 makes 1,064 hp, and the ZR1X ups it to 1,250 hp. Power and weight figures aren't everything, but they do count for a ton. Still, the GTD has a very advanced suspension system, huge Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, and an extremely advanced aero package that includes a Formula 1-style drag-reduction system to stall the wing on straights.
We don't know if Ford has anything planned. Farley surely wants to take back the record he's a racer himself, and he's pushing performance hard with the Mustang, but Ford isn't going to go to the 'Ring unless it knows it at least has a chance of beating the Corvette's time. There could be more time in the GTD, but Ford may also need to wait until it has its next, greatest thing to beat Chevy.
The championship push for Corvette Racing’s teams in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO & GTD classes continues this weekend at Road America, a place steeped in Corvette lore and success.
Corvette Racing has been a constant presence at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Wisconsin circuit. The program has eight victories there, all in the factory team era and the famed Corvette Bridge spans the track between turns Five and Six.
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (GTD PRO)
• No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims • No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg
The No. 3 duo of Garcia and Sims enter Road America with the GTD PRO Drivers’ Championship lead. Their four podiums lead all driving pairings in GTD PRO and is a large reason behind the points lead. They finished fifth last year in class at Road America, and Garcia is a previous Road America winner in the Corvette C8.R.
Milner and Catsburg placed second in the last round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the No. 4 Corvette for their first podium finish of the season. Catsburg qualified on pole a year ago in GTD PRO, while Milner was part of one of Road America’s most iconic race finishes by going from fifth to first in the closing minutes of the 2016 GTLM race.
AWA (GTD
• No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani AWA’s Fidani and Bell are back at Road America after a fifth-place GTD finish in 2024. Bell was part of a multi-car scrap late last year as the duo made up 10 spots in class during the race for what ended up as the best finish of the team’s debut season with the Corvette.
Matching that result will go a long way in helping Fidani move back to the top of the Bob Akin Award standings. He is second in points heading to Road America, with the winner earning a ticket to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. AWA also has given the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its only IMSA win this year at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
DXDT Racing (GTD)
• No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Alec Udell, Robert Wickens
Udell and Wickens gave DXDT Racing its best finish of its first season in GTD with a fourth-place showing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The DXDT Corvette has qualified third or better in class at each of the previous three rounds, with Udell on the front row at both Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen. Udell also scored a pair of victories last year with DXDT Racing in GT World Challenge America alongside Milner in the Pro class. Teammate Wickens has raced at Road America in Champ Car Atlantic, IndyCar and the Michelin Pilot Challenge, where he finished third in 2023.
The Motul SportsCar Grand Prix is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 3. The race will stream live on Peacock in the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. from 2 to 5 p.m. ET IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I hope we can be up toward the front at Road America. It has been a few years since our last win there, so obviously we want to end that run. The championship is what we are focusing on, though. Even if we still have the lead, it’s very close between the top three. We need to maximize every opportunity to score points, whether we have ultimate pace. That has been the strength of this team during GTD PRO and I know we will continue to do the same thing.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Road America is where I first drove the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It’s an incredible track and one of the highlights of our season. It’s very much a power track but the braking and cornering ability of the Corvette allows us to attack the circuit differently than most other cars. We will see if that is enough to get us and keep us at the front of the grid and in the championship.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I can’t go back to Road America and not think about the 2016 win there, when we went from fifth to first in the last couple of laps to win. It’s a great feeling to win at such a great track, and it’s something I want to experience again. There’s no better time than the present.
We have a little bit of momentum from the runner-up at CTMP. Judging how things have gone this year, I don’t expect this to be a very strong track for us, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to give it everything we have for the race win and Manufacturer's Championship points.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I really enjoyed this stretch of races last year in my first season in IMSA, and it’s the same this season. After Canada, we finally have some momentum and a podium result on our side of the garage. Let’s keep it going now at Road America. We qualified well there last year, but didn’t really put it together in the race for a couple of reasons. We have that experience plus other lessons we are learning this year on the team side that hopefully will mean that we can run up front more often than not the rest of this year and continue contributing to the Manufacturer's Championship.”
AWA PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I always love going back to Road America. It’s one of the most iconic racetracks in the United States. We had a pretty exciting race last year. This place always seems to generate great racing with a lot of action, so I’m looking forward to getting back there with our Corvette and seeing what we can do this time!”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Road America is one of those tracks on the calendar that every driver looks forward to. It’s so fast but also very technical, and it tends to produce a lot of opportunities. The team has been working hard in each round to give us a strong package with our No. 13 Corvette, and I’m confident we can be competitive again this year.”
DXDT RACING PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“The DXDT team has been hard at work on all fronts, prepping for the upcoming race at Road America. Each race we continue to improve processes, and a big one from the last race was getting Robert and I time to work together on driver changes at the shop. We’ve had a quick Corvette, and I feel confident we can get the most out of our DXDT Z06 GT3.R up in Road America. I’m excited to see where that puts us!”
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Road America is one of my favorite tracks on the IMSA calendar. The fans have so much passion for racing, which makes it even more special. The team is working hard to build on our strong result from CTMP. We are going to do everything we can to get our Corvette Z06 GT3.R on the podium for the first time this year.”
In GM’s official Limited Warranty and Owner Assistance Information booklets for 2025 and newer model-year vehicles, the automaker explicitly states that owners are responsible for installing OTA updates within 45 days of their availability.
The policy reads:
“Damage resulting from failure to install Over-the-Air software updates is not covered.” In short, neglecting updates could leave owners without warranty protection if a related issue arises.
This stipulation applies across all four of GM’s U.S. brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac). If an OTA update is missed and a component fails due to outdated software, the resulting repair costs could fall entirely on the owner.
However,
GM also clarifies that “if an Over-the-Air software update causes damage to the vehicle, that damage will be covered for the applicable warranty coverage period,” which should provide at least some peace of mind for those owners who would otherwise prefer the “wait and see” approach.
The Trump administration moved Tuesday to eliminate the last major environmental regulation on the U.S. auto industry.
The long-expected step came via a proposal to eliminate a key 2009 finding that enabled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The repeal of that finding could trigger a seismic shift in U.S. environmental regulations
“With this proposal, the Trump EPA is proposing to end sixteen years of uncertainty for automakers and American consumers,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a press release. He added that the past Obama and Biden administrations "twisted the law" and "warped science to achieve their preferred ends," resulting in high costs for families.
President Donald Trump, some six months into his second term, had already presided over the disarming of federal fuel economy standards and cancellation of California's ability to set influential zero-emission vehicle sales requirements that states could opt into. Collectively, his actions now amount to a swift dismantling of regulations that have shaped a crucial national industry for 16 years and promised to guide it into a more climate-conscious future.
The repeal of the Obama-era finding, widely known as the Endangerment Finding, could be a precursor to removing all EPA greenhouse gas standards for new motor vehicles dating back to 2010. That includes the latest standards, finalized last year, that Trump and other Republicans have vigorously called an "electric vehicle mandate."
Nixing the Endangerment Finding also likely will tee up changes to how the federal government regulates other major sources of climate-altering emissions beyond autos, experts say, including power plants and airplanes. Environmental groups widely condemned the proposal.
Businesses and trade groups in the auto sector, including Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. cautiously cheered the move, but suggested there should still be regulation of tailpipe emissions.
“We appreciate the work of President Trump and Administrator Zeldin to address the imbalance between current emissions standards and customer choice. Current standards do not align with the market, and America needs a single, stable standard to foster business planning," Ford spokesperson Robyn Jackson said in a statement.
She added: "The standard should align with science and customer choice, reduce carbon emissions by getting more stringent over time, and grow American manufacturing. We'll be working with regulators on a policy that serves all these goals."
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents all major U.S. automakers except for Tesla Inc., issued a similar statement: "We’re reviewing today’s announcement covering the endangerment finding to understand what it means for U.S. vehicle emissions rules going forward," said John Bozzella, the group's president and CEO.
"At the same time, there’s no question the vehicle emissions regulations finalized under the previous administration aren’t achievable and should be revised to reflect current market conditions, to keep the auto industry in America competitive, and to keep the industry on a path of vehicle choice and lower emissions.”
Cowards of General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV both deferred to the alliance's comment on the topic. The Detroit Three which includes Ford, GM and Stellantis tend to have the worst fuel economy performance among all major automakers operating in the United States. The American Petroleum Institute, the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, also praised the Trump administration after the EPA revealed its proposal on Tuesday.
"We support Administrator Zeldin's proposal to repeal the Biden administration's costly and unrealistic tailpipe rules, which would have effectively banned new gas-powered vehicles," API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a statement.
He continued: "This is a critical step toward restoring consumer choice and protecting the freedom of all Americans to decide what they drive. We look forward to working with the administration on policies that help reduce emissions while ensuring reliable and affordable transportation options for consumers."
The Trump EPA has said that vehicle rules enabled by the Endangerment Finding have cost over $1 trillion, though the NRDC pointed out that the number does not account for benefits from emissions regulations. An analysis from the Biden EPA last year, by contrast, estimated that the latest vehicle rules would yield $2.1 trillion in net benefits over 30 years including $820 billion in fuel savings and $1.8 trillion in public health and climate benefits.
The proposal to repeal the Endangerment Finding does not take effect immediately, and opponents have vowed to challenge it in court.
“It’s outrageous to justify this recklessness with the ridiculous claim that cutting planet-warming pollution is more expensive than the billions it will cost consumers at the pump and the hospital because of climate devastation," said Dan Becker, a longtime environmental advocate and director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Safe Climate Transport Campaign. "We’ll fight them every step of the way.”
The public will also be able to comment on the proposal through Sept. 21 and via virtual public hearings. Information for doing so is available on the EPA website.
After a rain-soaked Thursday limited track time, clearer skies greeted the GT America powered by AWS competitors for Practice 2 at VIRginia International Raceway. The dry 30-minute Friday morning session gave drivers their first proper chance to push the pace, and Blake McDonald continued to lead the way, just as he did in the rain the day prior
McDonald, behind the wheel of the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, picked up right where he left off, jumping to the top of the timesheets early in the session. Justin Rothberg looked strong in the opening stages as well in his No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, initially challenging for the top spot. Midway through the session, Jason Bell vaulted up into second place in his No. 2 Racers Edge Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT3, briefly beating out Rothberg. However, the order continued to shuffle as the track evolved and the session progressed, with Memo Gidley moving into P2 in the No. 56 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.
Kyle Washington then slotted into third in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, pushing Bell down the order into fifth behind the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ross Chouest. In the GT4 class, Michael Fitzpatrick set the early benchmark and held firm throughout the session in his No. 89 89x Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT as drivers continued dialing in their setups. With improving weather and more competitive times across the board, anticipation builds for the qualifying session Friday morning.
Let’s Get Racing The GT America powered by AWS will return to the track for Qualifying on Saturday morning, July 19th at 8:30 AM ET.
If you can’t make it to Virginia International Raceway, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTVIR.
For the last 5 years the Nurburgring lap record has belonged to cars built in Germany, and we never thought anything of it, we just simply sat back and waited to see if a non-German car company could one day claim the lap record-on the German based track.
We watched the introduction of Hypercar after hypercar, after hypercar, but none of them would even attempt a laptime at the Nurburgring, and we all thought nothing of it. But then Chevy introduced the Corvette ZR1 and posted 5 lap times for it at racetracks across America, where it annihilated every existing street car lap record, even that of the mighty Porsche GT3 RS, and our jaws hit the floor.
Then Chevy introduced the even faster ZR1X, and we started to wonder. And then before we know it, Chevy was running 3 C8 Corvettes at the Nurburgring, and it began to look like we might have the hero that would finally take the crown from the AMG 1.
Then fuel was added to the fire, when on June 28th, or, 6/28 Chevy posted a video of the Corvette at the Nurburgring, and people believed Chevy was hinting that the corvette had set a laptime of 6 minutes and 28 seconds, 1 second quicker than the Mercedes AMG One.
But setting an official Nurburgring lap time is not as cut an dry as must people think, and in this video we are going to open up the whole can of worms on why hypercar manufacturers outside of Germany are not attempting to set an official Nurburgring lap time.
Automotive media outlet carbuzz recently spoke with Tony Roma, the current executive chief engineer for the Corvette, and not the owner of the restaurant chain, and we got some very frustrating news, only the news wasn't frustrating in the way we expected. And the information he shared with us was extremely eye-opening and shed a lot of light on why so many supercar and hypercar manufacturers have stopped attempting Nürburgring lap records.
In the interview Tony Roma, or, T-Rome as I just decided to call him, said: "It's more difficult than it's even been to set a record at the ring. They charge you a lot of money to talk about it, and they want to have certified timing and scoring," T-Rome also said "You have to rent the entire track, pay for the safety marshals, pay the licensing fee, pay the filming fee. And if your day rains, oh well. We are not based in Stuttgart, so we can't just go back next week. That's why you haven't seen us set a lap record attempt."
So in the interview, T-Rome chose some interesting words and said it's more difficult than ever to set a lap record at the Nurburgring, and those difficulties have nothing to do with the Corvettes performance. He mentions track rental fees, press fees, scoring fees, safety fees, licensing fees, filming fees and also any costs associated with traveling and shipping the cars and equipment from America to Germany.
Now I personally would like to see the Corvette break the Nurburgring lap record as much as or more than anyone else, and T-Rome suggesting that the associated costs were the biggest barrier to the corvette setting the time, was a huge letdown to hear, but it was also pretty insightful. For years many of us have been wondering why such impressive non-German hypercars like the Koenigsegg Jesko, Bugatti Chiron, Aston Martin Valkyrie and Rimac Nevara have never bothered to attempt an official Nurburgring lap time, while everyday German cars like the Porsche Panamera, Mercedes AMG C63, BMW M4 and Volkswagen GTI do.
And while we're opening up this can of worms, we also need to talk about the fact that companies like Koenigsegg, Ferrari and Mclaren have never even attempted a Nurburgring lap record, and anytime one of their cars was clocking a time, it was being conducted by an independent media source like Auto Sport or Evo Magazine. And get this, out of the 4 hundred and 85 official Nurburgring lap times for street legal cars that I could find, 2 hundred and 63 of them were for german cars.
That means that in all the time people have been keeping track of nurbergring lap times, despite the fact that there have been hundreds of car companies worldwide, 54% of the official Nurburgring lap times belong to german cars. And just to put this into perspective, there are official Nurburgring lap times for 10 different versions of the BMW M4, But not 1 single lap time for any of the 9 Bugatti Chiron variants.
And I seriously doubt that BMW was forced to pay the track fees, rental fees, press fees, scoring fees, safety fees, licensing fees and filming fees for each of those M4 lap times, that GM is being forced to pay for the Corvette lap times.
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-liter 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.”
JMR Corvettes take a 3rd place podium on Saturday and a win on Sunday in GT World action from Fuji, Japan. Here’s a highlight of the race action on the win from one of the 2 Corvette GT3.R’s in action.
Prince Jefri Ibrahim scored his third win of the season, and second in three rounds alongside co-driver Ben Green, in an action and incident packed second race at Fuji where JMR’s other Corvette lost third place at the final corner of the last lap.
The #99 Z06 GT3.R controlled the race from pole position until a late Safety Car period wiped out its near-19-second advantage. But while Ibrahim successfully negotiated the final lap shootout, the same could not be said for several other top contenders including his brother Abu Bakar who collided with Ruan Cun Fan’s Team KRC BMW in sight of the finish.
Origine’s Porsche shared by championship leaders Bob Yuan and Leo Ye inherited second place earlier on the same lap when a spinning Mike Zhou collected Lu Wei, while Craft-Bamboo’s Cao Qi and Jayden Ojeda completed the overall podium despite being caught up in the Corvette and BMW’s late racing incident.
That and an earlier penalty for 5ZIGEN’s Nissan helped Origine’s Li Kerong and Anders Fjordbach claim their maiden Silver-Am victory and finish an impressive fifth overall. Silver spoils went the way of Harmony’s Ferrari driven by Andy Deng and Luo Kailuo, and Garage 75 collected Am honors courtesy of David Tjiptobiantoro and Christian Colombo.
The Florida Highway Patrol's black and tan Corvette cruiser is the winner of the 2025 American Association of State Troopers ‘Best Looking Cruiser’ competition.
The black and tan FHP Corvette cruiser has been named winner of the 2025 America’s Best Looking Cruiser Contest, a three peat for the Sunshine State highway patrol. The FHP win in the American Association of State Troopers contest makes Florida the first state in contest history to win three consecutive years. This year’s winning photo features FHP’s black and tan Corvette cruiser set against the backdrop of a vibrant Miami sunset, with the city’s iconic skyline in the distance. “Florida is a state filled with pride and support for our law enforcement officers, and this historic, first ever three-peat is a reflection of that,” said FLHSMV Executive Director Dave Kerner.
“This first-ever three-peat is a credit to our team’s creativity, our agency’s mission, and the thousands of Floridians who rallied behind us once again. I’m incredibly proud of our troopers, staff, and the support we’ve received from the public and our partners statewide.”
When Chevy published a teaser showing the 2026 Corvette ZR1 at the Nürburgring on June 28, the internet immediately jumped to the conclusion that the 6-28 date meant the new C8 variant would break the current record holder’s time.
But not so fast. Corvette Chief Executive Engineer Tony Roma says that kind of talk might just be wishful thinking. “It’s more difficult than it’s ever been to set a record at the ‘Ring.
They charge you a lot of money to talk about it, and they want to have certified timing and scoring,” Roma explained. “You have to rent the track, get the safety marshals, pay the licensing fee, pay the filming fee. And if your day rains, oh well. We are not based in Stuttgart, so we can’t just go back next week. That’s why you haven’t seen us set a lap record attempt.”
The 6-28 reference is significant because a time of 6 minutes, 28 seconds would smash the current production car lap record holder, the Mercedes-AMG One with an F1-inspired V6 engine that ran a sizzling 6:29.090 on the German track. Still, all may not be hopeless for the Corvette faithful.
Perhaps the ZR1 could settle for becoming the fastest American production car to lap the Nordschleife by breaking the Ford Mustang GTD’s record pace of 6:52.072, or maybe even aiming higher for the runner-up spot overall by beating the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with the Manthey Performance Kit that ran a time of 6:38.835.
Regardless, it won’t be easy, if you believe Roma.
“You can see the effort Ford had to put into the GTD,” Roma said. “And they had to go back twice to get decent weather.” “All I can say is, stay tuned. We did go and drive around the (12.944 miles and 157 corners of the) Green Hell, and we’re pretty proud of how the car did. And so, we’re going to release more details when the time’s right. Very soon, very soon.”
As Roma teased, Chevy just wants to “wait until you have a story that’s worth telling.”
GM recently posted a teaser from the Nürburgring, showing the 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1 setting a lap time. Speculation has already run rampant, with a former Corvette engineer even predicting the 1,064-horsepower 'Vette would be within a shout of breaking the production car lap record around the famous racetrack in Germany. Speaking with the current executive chief engineer for Corvette, however, it seems we may need to temper our expectations.
Many of the rumors circulating around this teaser are related to the date it was published: June 28. This led some speculators to predict that the ZR1 would set a 6:28 lap time, which would put it ahead of the current production car lap record holder, the Mercedes-AMG One. That car features an F1-inspired V6 engine, and is capable of a blistering 6:29.090 time.
The Porsche 911 GT2 RS with the Manthey Performance Kit is in second place by a significant margin (6:38.835). When CarBuzz asked about the date being a hint at the lap time, Tony Roma seemed to insinuate this was not the case.
"I wish the car was that fast. I've seen so many things online, but just stay tuned." – Tony Roma, executive chief engineer for global Corvette
The Nürburgring Nordschleife is possibly the most grueling racetrack in the world; they don't call it the Green Hell for no reason. It stretches for 12.944 miles with a staggering 157 corners, meaning there could be rain at one end of the track and clear skies on the other.
"It's more difficult than it's even been to set a record at the ring. They charge you a lot of money to talk about it, and they want to have certified timing and scoring," Roma explained. "You have to rent the track, get the safety marshals, pay the licensing fee, pay the filming fee. And if your day rains, oh well. We are not based in Stuttgart, so we can't just go back next week.
That's why you haven't seen us set a lap record attempt." Some automakers will publish what is called a "segmented time," where they take the best times from various sections over several runs to estimate a lap time. But Roma says that is "a little cheesy" and "a bit misleading."
Roma said he wanted to "wait until you have a story that's worth telling." Though it seems unlikely that the ZR1 will defeat the AMG One, there is another important car that Chevy hopes it can take down: the Ford Mustang GTD. For reference, the GTD became the fastest American production car to lap the Nordschleife when it set a 6:52.072 time earlier this year. Becoming the fastest American car would certainly be a good story for Chevy.
"You can see the effort Ford had to put into the GTD," Roma hinted. "And they had to go back twice to get decent weather." "All I can say is, stay tuned. We did go and drive around the Green Hell, and we're pretty proud of how the car did. And so, we're going to release more details when the time's right. Very soon, very soon."
Executive Chief Engineer Tony Roma reassured the Corvette faithful in an interview at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed that gasoline-powered ‘Vettes are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.
“The technology really isn’t there to make a car you would enjoy, and to make a car light enough with enough range, with enough capability at a cost point that people could afford,” Roma told CarBuzz. “So I don’t think the technology is there yet, and I don’t think the market is really there, not in volume. It would be a very niche product. So I think it’s going to be a while before you see an all-electric Corvette.”
Indeed, when former President Biden mentioned at one point during his term wanting to take an electric Corvette for a drive, he apparently was actually referring to the E-Ray and ZR1X, both of which have additional power provided by electric motors in the front.
“It was about an electrified Corvette, which is the car we’re standing next to,” Roma explained. “And that was the discussion back then, and that is and has been the discussion. Some people took that and assumed we meant all electric.” During the interview, Roma explained that the all-wheel-drive system on both electrified versions of the Corvettes helps make the cars more stable in curves.
“Instead of drifting away from the apex, you get to the point where you realize, oh, the front axle is going to vector me into the apex, and it helps pull you,” Roma explained. “And it does things that it really takes a while to get used to driving, and it does things that you can’t do any other way. It’s incredible.”
Hopefully, that means the C9 will still have internal combustion engines, meaning that the days of hearing the beautiful roar of gasoline-powered Corvettes are far from over.
It's worth noting that the E-Ray, while being the first electrified Corvette in Chevrolet's history, wasn't the only hybrid C8 on the drawing board. From the very beginning, the E-Ray and ZR1X were co-developed with the electric motor powering the front axle. In the hotter 'Vette, that motor adds 186 hp to the mix. But more importantly for performance, it helps the ZR1X make better use of its twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 mounted behind the driver.
As Roma explains, the all-wheel-drive system helps pull the ZR1X into the apex of a corner. Drivers can also roll onto the throttle sooner rather than later on exit. The extra pull from that front motor helps the rear stay in line, even if the massive rear tires break loose. And with traction control dialed back, they will definitely break loose at the mere hint of aggression on the gas pedal.
"Instead of drifting away from the apex, you get to the point where you realize, oh, the front axle is going to vector me into the apex, and it helps pull you," said Roma. "And it does things that it really takes a while to get used to driving, and it does things that you can't do any other way. It's incredible."
Roma didn't expand further on anything else coming for the C8, which likely means a Corvette Zora, however it might've been presented, isn't happening. ZR1 has been the flagship trim for several Corvette generations now, and it appears that won't change for the C8. Moving beyond to the C9, there's not much to discuss right now, but an electric-only 'Vette may not happen for that generation, either. Roma doesn't believe the hardware exists to build a car befitting the Corvette name.
"The technology really isn't there to make a car you would enjoy, and to make a car light enough with enough range, with enough capability at a cost point that people could afford," he said. "So I don't think the technology is there yet, and I don't think the market is really there, not in volume. It would be a very niche product. So I think it's going to be a while before you see an all-electric Corvette."
In the long and storied history of Corvette Racing, no single racetrack has witnessed more success for the program than venerable Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The track just to the east of Toronto has been the backdrop for 13 Corvette class victories dating back to 2001.
The 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit, formerly Mosport International Raceway, is the backdrop for what Corvette Z06 GT3.R team's hope is another winning weekend during the Chevrolet Grand Prix. This year’s race, in which the Corvette GT3 car scored its first win in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, features four Corvette entries across the two GT classes: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO along with AWA and DXDT Racing in GTD.
All 13 victories for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing at CTMP have come from the Pratt Miller-run team, including last year’s dominating weekend for Garcia now a three-time winner there – and Sims. The pair led a 1-2 finish as Sims claimed pole position and set the fastest race lap along the way. Garcia and Sims also come into this weekend with additional momentum from four podium finishes in five races and the GTD PRO championship lead.
Along with a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen for the No. 3 Corvette, Milner and Catsburg recorded their best finish of the season in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R – fourth place in class and just missing the podium. The duo was the closest challenger to the sister car at CTMP a year ago. Milner is a past class-winner at the track with Corvette Racing, and Catsburg made his first start at the circuit last year.
AWA (GTD)
• No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani
AWA’s Fidani and Bell aim to make up for last year’s race at CTMP, where a collision forced the No. 13 Corvette out of last year’s Chevrolet Grand Prix. This time around, the team will contest its home race in the special Canadian-themed livery that proved immensely popular last month at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In addition to posting a solid result in its home race, AWA hopes to use the CTMP round to bolster its chances in claiming a second consecutive Bob Akin Award for Fidani. The honor goes to the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD and was AWA’s ticket to Le Mans after winning the season-long championship in 2024. AWA also has given the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its only IMSA win this year at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
DXDT Racing (GTD)
• No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Alec Udell, Robert Wickens
The Chevrolet Grand Prix marks Robert Wickens’ return to DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette that is equipped with the newest generation of Bosch’s electronic braking system. Wickens made his high-profile debut in the Corvette and in the WeatherTech Championship at Long Beach and also competed at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
A two-time winner at CTMP in Michelin Pilot Challenge, Wickens rejoins Alec Udell in the DXDT Corvette following a near-miss at Watkins Glen. Udell qualified on the GTD front row for the second year in a row, and the team challenged for the class win until a mechanical issue sidelined the No. 36 Corvette with 10 minutes to go.
The Chevrolet Grand Prix is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. The race will air live on the USA from 2 to 5 p.m. with full streaming coverage on Peacock inside the U.S. and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.
CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER PRE-EVENT QUOTES
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I think we can challenge for the win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I don’t know if we will have enough or not, but we will definitely go for it. We just need to wait and see what we actually have. We’ll do what we always do and go as fast as we can with whatever we have.
Furthermore, we’ll try to find our weak spots and especially where we might be ahead of our competition so we can take advantage of that. We just need to play things smart again and see what this race brings.”
ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Honestly, I enjoy every single event in IMSA, but this is really the sweet spot in terms of hitting awesome tracks week after week. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is up there with the absolute best of the tracks in North America for me personally. I love it there. It’s where we were able to put it on pole and win last year, and it would be amazing if we could do the same again this time around. We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s realistic or not.
“These are the standout tracks and why I want to come and race in IMSA. It’s a really nice part of the year. CTMP also is important in this phase to maximize each race and keep the championship challenge going. But from that point of view it’s about focusing on every single race. We’ll focus on the moment and enjoy what we’re doing.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“This is the real meat of our schedule. Watkins Glen obviously set off a nice sequence of just classic North American road courses. Next for us is Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which is consistently my answer for whenever I’m asked what is my favorite racetrack. It just has all the right characteristics, all the right rhythm and flow and challenge and everything that you want in a racetrack.
It’s a lot of fun, especially these days in these GT3 cars. We’ve been successful there. I think it really suits the Corvette. It’s a place where the fast-flowing, high-speed nature of the track really is this car’s sweet spot. I’m hoping that that continues to stay true. We’ve seen all last year and still this year that we struggle a little bit in straight-line speed, but hopefully we have just enough to keep anybody behind us if we are toward the front.
But yeah, just love racing there. The fans there are great, as always, real diehard sports car racing fans. It’s just a big challenge – one that I think every lap, you kind of hold your breath in a couple places, and that’s what makes it fun.”
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I got to discover CTMP for the first time last year, and the track is just incredible. It’s another of the classic North American tracks that I really enjoy. I would say that it lived up to my expectations last year with the fast corners, elevation changes and a really nice flow. Certainly, we were fast there last year in the Corvette, which is encouraging.
The team obviously knows the track really well and has a lot of wins and experience. So all that makes me pretty confident going into the weekend. We had what I would say was a decent result at Watkins Glen so let’s see if we can make the improvements we need to be higher up the order.”
MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is one of my favorite tracks from anywhere in the world, and we’ve been eagerly waiting to race there again! I’m really looking forward to the team’s home race and to bringing back the fan-favorite livery from Le Mans. We felt we had a very strong car at CTMP last year, so I’m confident we’ll be competitive. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring the Canadian-flagged Corvette Z06 GT3.R over the line with a strong result in front of a great crowd.”
OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“This race means so much to the whole team. CTMP is an extremely special place for me, it’s where this whole journey began, and it’s very sentimental to be able to compete at my home track in front of friends and family. After seeing the massive amount of support we received in Le Mans, we knew we had to bring back the red livery for the Canadian crowd. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car, and we’ll be doing everything we can to put on a good show and get a great result here.”
ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I’m excited to return to a sprint format together with Robert in the DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It’s a race on home turf for him, and it’s been a good place for the Corvettes in the past. It feels like we’ve got a lot of positive momentum coming into the race, so I can’t wait to get on track and give all Robert’s supporters up there, and our DXDT team, an effort to root for!”
ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of the headline race, driving a Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s a big race for myself, as well as my team, DXDT Racing. We feel like a podium is just around the corner, and there is no place I would rather achieve that than at home at CTMP. The Corvette has always been a fan favorite. Ron Fellows put Corvette Racing on the map in Canada with all of his success with Pratt Miller. Ron has had a huge influence on CTMP and on my career. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to from a very young age, and he’s helped me, and other Canadian drivers, progress from karts to cars. Now to return and drive a Corvette just like Ron has done for so many years holds a special place for me.”
The Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R and TF Sport enter the second half of the FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend with solid momentum and both racecars in title contention as the series shifts to South America.
The Six Hours of Paulo is the fifth round of the FIA WEC and first event after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It also is the resumption of a tight fight in the LMGT3 with each of the second-year Corvette GT3s looking to contend not just for a race win but also moving up in the Drivers and Teams championship standings:
No. 33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R
The trio of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating sit third in points on the strength of their season-opening race win at Qatar. Of the three, only Juncadella has raced at Sāo Paulo and his debut at the circuit came last year.
Following the victory at Qatar and subsequent championship lead, the No. 33 Corvette was the heaviest car at both Imola and Spa-Francorchamps by more than 50 pounds. Much of that success ballast comes off for Sāo Paulo, which gives the 33 side of the TF Sport garage optimism for its first Hyperpole appearance of the season and a return to the class podium.
No. 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy broke through at Le Mans for a third-place LMGT3 finish and their first podium result of the year. The No. 81 Corvette squad jumped up to sixth in points to give TF Sport two cars that can contend for the race win and podium in Brazil. Of note, Van Rompuy has advanced the No. 81 Corvette into the LMGT3 Hyperpole session in three of four races this year.
Meanwhile Eastwood and Andrade are coming off a thrilling victory in Sunday’s Four Hours of Imola in TF Sport’s European Le Mans Series Corvette entry with Hiroshi Koizumi – the first win for Corvette Racing in that championship.
The Six Hours of Sāo Paulo is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. Full live-streaming coverage of Free Practice 3, qualifying and the race will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the United States.
TF SPORT PRE-EVENT QUOTES
DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“The good news is we are going to lose a lot of weight. We have a gluten-free diet going to Sāo Paulo! Which is nice because we have been heavy all year. We are still third in the championship, which is fantastic after a difficult Le Mans. I think the second half of the year we will be strong and will be fighting to get back to where we belong.”
JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“This will be my first time to Brazil, so it’s a new track for me and Ben. We’ll try to learn it as quickly as possible. Luckily, Dani has been there, so I’m sure he will be able to help us a lot. I’m sure he’ll be able to help us a lot. It’ll be nice to have as much success ballast. Obviously it’s nice to have it because you’ve obviously won something! But I think we’ll have a tiny bit from our championship position, but much less than previous races. So I think that should be helpful. Hopefully we can have another good weekend and score as many points as we can.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“My main goal is to win the championship, and we are still in that hunt for sure. For the last several races, we’ve been carrying around so much success ballast. I’m glad to know that the two people in front of us in the championship are now going to be very heavy. And we’re going to be considerably lighter. I’ve never been to Sāo Paulo. But I’ve spent a lot of time on my simulator and learning it. So I’m looking forward to being back toward the front.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“Coming off Le Mans, we’re really optimistic about Sāo Paulo. The truck’s been resurfaced, so it might be quite different. We just need to keep doing what we are doing, and hopefully we have a bit more pace in the Corvette. So we are looking forward to it. Hopefully like last year, we can finish the year super-strong. We’re up to P6 in the championship after Le Mans, and hopefully we can keep pushing forward with that.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It’s really encouraging to come into Brazil after our podium at Le Mans. Our confidence is at an all-time high right now as we are going into some tracks where I feel we were strong last year. It starts at Sāo Paulo where we learned a lot in our first time there with the Corvette. The car already was fairly quick and competitive last year, and I hope we have more of the same this time around.”
TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“We have excellent momentum after Le Mans. Now we take that to Sao Paulo, which is a track I discovered for the first time last year. I think we should go along fairly well there. The team is operating at a high level on both sides of the garage. All season, the driving has been very, very good to go along with the strategy and pit stops. Let’s see if we can continue that this weekend.”
First European Le Mans Series win for Corvette Racing, Corvette Z06 GT3.R
IMOLA, Italy (July 6, 2025) – TF Sport’s Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi captured victory in the Four Hours of Imola on Sunday for the first European Le Mans Series win for the Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R as well as for Corvette Racing. The TF Sport driving trio weathered changing conditions during the race and played the correct tire strategy as Eastwood took the checkered flag by 7.443 seconds in the No. 82 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Koizumi drove from near the rear of the LMGT3 field to second in his nearly two hours of driving, Andrade kept the Corvette in contention on slick tires through a period of showers, and Eastwood drove the final leg to score the first victory in a Corvette for all three. The race featured a 20-plus-minute red flag period and a couple of periods of showers but no dramas for the TF Corvette. All totaled, the No. 82 Corvette led three times for 63 laps.
While it was the first ELMS win this year for TF Sport with the Corvette, the combination was victorious to start the FIA WEC season in Qatar. The pair of TF Sport Corvettes are in action this week at São Paulo in Brazil.
The next round of the European Le Mans Series is Sunday, August 24 from Spa-Francorchamps.
CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:
“It’s very rewarding to see TF Sport deliver the first win in the European Le Mans Series for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The team and each of the drivers made the right decisions and strategy calls in changing weather conditions throughout. Congratulations to Charlie, Rui, Hiro and all of TF Sport on this landmark victory for Corvette Racing.”
CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 82 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“We had a really strong race. Hiro’s stint to get us into the lead, everyone else was making mistakes throughout the race and what we’ve shown this year is that we’ve executed really well and just at times didn’t really have the pace. Today we did and again executed a close to flawless race on that side. As always, though, in ELMS it gets a bit busy. I saw the VSC come out and thought, ‘OK, this is all going to be a little bit harder.’ But yeah, it was good. (Miguel) Molina was chasing me down once nobody had to fuel save anymore. The gap started to get a little bit twitchy, to say the least. But the car just came alive when the fuel started to burn off. By the end, I was able to then just maintain the gap to them.
“I’m so delighted for both of these guys, the team, and it’s my first win with Corvette. It hasn’t been the easiest start to a change of manufacturer. I’m really happy to sort of get this off our back.”
(On late-race FCYs) “I was actually speaking with our engineer, when you’re trying to be a little bit conservative, of how early you slow down and how early you release the button because you think you’ve got a margin, you kind of blink, and you end up losing three or four seconds when you know somebody like Molina is going to be pushing that to the limit. So by the last one, you’re just attacking as much as you can, cutting every corner as much as you can under FCY. And yeah, we were able to maintain the gap to the end.”
RUI ANDRADE, NO. 82 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“It was very tricky conditions, obviously, coming out. The rain had just started. Obviously, Hiro had done a really good job at that point in tricky conditions to bring himself so high in the order. From there on, the pressure was on because I started to feel like I could get a excellent result.
I went out of the pit lane with cold right-hand side tires. It was very tricky, because as soon as I went out, the FCY was activated, so I didn’t really have much time to get temperature in and then the rain got harder. So when it was time to go back to green, I had no temperature in the tires. For two or three laps it was very tricky. A lot of cars were going off and making mistakes so I was happy to keep it on track. Then from there I was just surviving until the conditions improved and was lucky to be in a good place and build up the rhythm in the end and give the car to Charlie in a good position.
“It’s always a pleasure to represent (Angola), but this win is even more special. I’ve been sharing a car with Charlie now for a year-and-a-half, and it felt like we’ve been quite close a few times. To get the win now is really special and also with Hiro; we were also teammates in different cars but teammates at TF last year in WEC. So for us all to come together and get this win not only for ourselves, but for the team and also for Corvette, the first win for Corvette in ELMS is really special. So hopefully this is a turnaround and we can keep the momentum going for the next rounds.”
HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:
“I knew the opening lap would be a little bit dangerous, and on the first lap I had to stop the car to avoid an accident. But in the end I felt like I did a good job and knew that something big was going to happen for us, so I was really happy to do a good race. This is the best team and the best car with the best drivers, so I was really happy to give my teammates the car in a good condition. They did a great job.”
TF Sport made it a double success in the LMGT3 category, as Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi delivered a first ELMS victory for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The British outfit hit the front when Celia Martin’s Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R spun into the Villeneuve chicane gravel trap in the second hour, and largely controlled the remainder of the race.
It briefly lost its grip on the top spot when Andrade was overtaken into Tamburello by Matteo Cressoni’s Proton Porsche, but Eastwood was untroubled after the VSC as a three-way Ferrari battle raged behind. Miguel Molina crossed the line second in the No. 74 Kessel Racing 296 GT3 he shared with Fran Rueda and Andrew Gilbert, but was initially demoted to third by a post-race five-second penalty for earlier contact with David Perel’s No. 55 Spirit of Race machine existing Tosa.
However, their runner-up finish was reinstated when Conrad Laursen, Davide Rigon and Charles-Henri Samani, who had provisionally inherited second in their No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari, were slapped with a 10-second penalty for a FCY infringement. That demoted them to fourth, behind Perel, who along with Matt Griffin and Duncan Cameron had crossed the line fifth. The Porsche Cressoni shared with Alessio Picariello and Christian Ried slipped from fourth on the road to fifth for an identical penalty to the one inflicted on Laursen.
In the LMP3 class, CLX Motorsport’s Ligier survived a drive-through penalty to score a third LMP3 win from as many races as trouble hit several of its rivals. Paul Lanchere, Adrien Closmenil and Theodor Jensen finished two laps clear of their opposition, despite Lanchere being penalized for spinning the M Racing Ligier on the opening lap.
The No. 31 Racing Spirit of LeMan Ligier, shared by Marius Fossard, Jean-Ludovic Foubert and Jacques Wolff, finished a distant second after M Racing’s puncture ruled it out of contention and a stubborn door hatch thwarted the victory hopes of Euro international. Fabien Michal and Ian Aguilera still finished third.
The highly anticipated 2025 Corvette ZR1 is finally arriving in Chevy dealerships across North America.
Predictably, the earliest models coming to showrooms are coming with significant dealer markups. The C8 ZR1 is already an expensive supercar, and the privilege of being one of the first to own one is coming at an even greater price at many dealerships. In one example, a California POS dealership is offering a prospective buyer aZR1 for $500,000.
The trash dealer in question is FH Dailey Chevrolet in San Leandro, California. Which is a dump, hardly anyone speaks English
The dealer has in stock a C8 ZR1 in a highly desirable configuration that closely resembles the press car spec frequently used in Chevy’s marketing materials for the ZR1. It’s a 3LZ coupe finished in Competition Yellow Tintcoat.
It’s not a ZTK, but it does have the Carbon Fiber Aero Package (RPO TOM), front lift adjustable height memory (E60), carbon flash wheels (SOG), yellow brake calipers (J6E), competition sport bucket seats (AE4), and some extra yellow accents in the interior. The total ticker price, including the destination charge and the gas guzzler tax, comes to $206,280.
It’s not a cheap Corvette, to be sure. Even with that high price, the half-million-dollar asking price represents a 142 percent dealer markup.
This isn’t the first Corvette ZR1 markup we’ve seen in a six-digit dollar amount. Last month, a sales associate at a different slum of California Chevy dealer making a post in the “Corvette C8 Z06, ZR1 & E-Ray” Facebook group showing a ZR1 that was in transit to the dealer.
He listed an MSRP of $206,080, plus an additional dealer markup of an even $100k. The same salesman posted other available ZR1 allocations with $50k markups.
Supercar shoppers can expect the markup problem to continue on the 2025 Corvette ZR1 since it has a limited production run for its debut model year. However, unlike the C7 ZR1, the C8 ZR1 will be produced for longer than one model year.
The 2026 model has already been announced, and there’s still more life left in the C8 generation since it just got an interior refresh.
Arkansas State Police Trooper Zachary Paschal spotted 35-year-old Sarah E. Bates behind the wheel of the C5 Corvette, identified as stolen earlier that day. She had been seen in Walmart security footage and was believed to have been under the influence when she allegedly stole the Corvette.
After fleeing from Paschal, Bates was then seen by an off-duty Pocahontas Police officer as she was heading south on U.S. Highway 63 near Sedgwick, where she entered a parking lot but then kept going south. Paschal spotted her again near State Highway 91 in Lawrence County, but after initiating a traffic stop, Bates sped away, passing other vehicles on the right shoulder and running a red light as she continued northbound.
With his lights and siren on, Trooper Paschal gave chase, with speeds reaching 113 mph in a 60 zone. He even pulled alongside the Corvette at one point with his window down and yelled for Bates to pull over, a command she ignored.
Finally, a Tactical Vehicle Intervention caused the Corvette to veer into a ditch along the east side of the highway, just south of Walnut Ridge, and when Bates tried to pull out of the ditch again, Paschal blocked her efforts this time with his push bumper.
Even then, it took repeated commands for Bates to exit the vehicle, authorities said. Bates was taken into custody and read her Miranda rights but said she did not understand them.
After being transported to the Lawrence County Jail for a DWI investigation, Bates was arrested and charged with driving on a suspended license, improper passing on the right, failure to stop at a red light, reckless driving, fleeing in a vehicle with substantial risk, and second-offense DWI involving drugs.
The Pocahontas Police Department is also investigating the theft of the Corvette, so additional charges may follow.
