Chevy Corvette vs. Nissan GT-R: The Drag Race Showdown You Can't Miss
Not long now, the Corvette galaxy will explode in a million stars to the tune of the new 2025 ZR1. Meanwhile, the sun is setting for the R35 Nissan GT-R as the Japanese grand tourer is saying goodbye to America.
As far as the rumor mill is concerned, the date of July 25 is going to be something to remember – that's when Team Corvette has programmed the reveal of Chevrolet's latest version of 'America's sports car.' The 2025 C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is rumored to sport the same FPC naturally aspirated engine as the Z06 version but with a fresh twin-turbo assembly to achieve no less than 800+ horsepower.
Obviously, they have their sights on the upcoming 2025 Ford Mustang GTD, which has the 5.2-liter supercharged V8 from the F-150 Raptor R and previous Shelby GT500 combined with the underpinnings of the Mustang GT3 endurance racer. It also has 800 horsepower and the ambition to become America's best sports car – the Blue Oval company targets a sub-seven-minute lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife to prove its worth.
Meanwhile, the R35 Nissan GT-R, the epitome of Japanese grand tourers, has – at long last – approached its final lease of life after the current generation started production in December 2007. In America, the automaker is bringing for model year 2025 a couple of very special limited editions. One is the T-spec Takumi Edition, dedicated to craftsmanship, and the other is the Skyline Edition, the first time the honored nameplate officially reaches North American shores.
Obviously, with the R35 being a grand tourer and the C8 Corvette an affordable sports car as far as the base Stingray is concerned, you wouldn't necessarily see them as natural rivals, right? Well, that line of thought really doesn't matter at the local dragstrip more often than not. But there is no need to take our word for granted – here's an eloquent example.
So, the videographer behind the SSDracer channel on YouTube has prepared more quick action of the 1/8th mile variety at Barona Dragstrip in Lakeside, California. This time around, he has brought his 2023 C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51, which is completely stock, to a 'David vs Goliath' brawl against a 2015 Nissan GT-R.
On top of that, the racer arrived at Barona with a modified ride and sporting Mickey Thompson drags radials on all four wheels. Obviously, you would think that it's going to be absolute destruction against the stock C8. But we have seen on countless occasions how these heavily tuned machines falter exactly when the drivers need them to perform like a charm.
Well, this wasn't one of those times, as it turns out. While the C8 driver, who knows both the machine and the dragstrip very well, had a slight advantage at the start line due to a slightly better reaction time, when the R35 got going, it was seemingly unstoppable. In the end, the result was as expected – 6.06 seconds for the GT-R and only 7.77 seconds for the C8. Plus, the trap speed difference was staggering – 91 mph for the loser and almost 130 mph for the victor!
Cool, right? Now, all we have to do is wait and see if the C8 Chevy Corvette ZR1 lives up to the hype. Also, we're eager to see what Nissan has in store for the R36 iteration – they promised it wouldn't be a dumbed-down supercar, but it's unclear yet if they will opt for ICE-only, hybrid, or fully electric propulsion technology next.
