8 Of The Fastest Corvette Models Ever Made, Ranked By Top Speed

Corvette has gone through a lot of changes over the years — some better than others. But through every different generation or design, Corvette has maintained its reputation as being powerful and fast while remaining at more obtainable luxury price points. Dare we say that Corvettes are the best American sports car? That probably depends what you are looking for in a sports car. But if it's speed, the Corvette is raising the bar (extremely high) for American-made vehicles. 

The Corvette has become faster and faster over the years, reaching supercar territory with its most recent models. There's even talks of a hypercar killer being tested right now, the Corvette Zora, boasting over 1,200 horsepower. But that car is still under wraps. Luckily, there are plenty of existing Corvettes to keep you distracted. These are the reigning Corvette models for now, some of them electric and some of them special editions (and all of them menacing).

The 2024 Corvette E-Ray is a hybrid gas-electric model, the first time Corvette has explored the new hybrid trend. This is a very peculiar Corvette on top of its hybrid nature — its front and back wheels have separate power sources due to the engine powering the back and the electric motor powering the front. This has made the E-Ray have better handling, which is definitely a nice touch for the track, especially when you're racing into 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds. This is actually the fastest acceleration for any Corvette, which makes up for its slightly lower top speed. 

SlashGear test drove a 2024 Corvette E-Ray on the track and this new powertrain setup was a bit complex to master. But the car's racing potential is in a category all of its own at the moment — it could even be a good drift car. Corvette has plans to release a fully electric E-Ray in the future, so we may see even faster times and more capabilities — but the current E-Ray gets the job done.

The Stingray is a stylish, semi-affordable, and speedy sports car that has made it one of the most popular picks for Corvette fans. It's just $66,400 for the base model despite its supercar-inspired design, although we weren't a huge fan of the exaggerated shapes and neon coloring. Still, if it's flashy you want — you got it in this powerful sports car. It reaches top speeds of 194 mph and hits 60 mph in only 2.9 seconds. 

This is thanks to the C8 Stingray's mid-engine placement and an intense V8 that provides you with 490 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. The Z51 package increases this to 495 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. While a top-down drive will definitely get the adrenaline pumping, some purists are disappointed that it only comes in automatic. Despite this, it's a fun car that packs a punch with its bold looks and top speed.

The 2023 C8 Z06 has become one of the most beloved 'Vettes due to its glorious sounding engine and impressive skills on the track. SlashGear noted in its review of the Z06 that it was one of the best sounding engines out there, an LT6 with a peak power of 8,400 RPMs and a nearly 8,600 RPM redline, reached with a race-focused engine configuration. And with that heavenly sound comes some incredible speeds as well. The 2023 C8 Z06 reaches 195 mph and hits 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds.

The Z06 has an edgy and sharp appearance to match but an underwhelming interior. No matter — it has remained a top performing Corvette that is hard to look away from. The 2025 C8 Z06 is the latest in this generation of Z06 and it has the same reported top speed but it's still a Corvette that will turn heads this year. 

The C7 Z06 has remained a popular Corvette model after all these years due to the performance for the price. It's relatively affordable with a starting price of $52,000 — and for that you get a very impressive sports car. The C7 Z06 has a supercharged V8 engine that produces 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. 

In fact, the C7 Z06 has no trouble keeping up with modern models. It has a top speed of 197 mph and reaches 60 mph in a little under 3.7 seconds. However, good luck hitting these numbers on a daily drive — these top speeds are made for the track. What helps the C7 Z06 remain competitive on the track is its impressive handling. It also keeps up with modern cars inside the cockpit thanks to its digital heads up display that has everything you'd need on the track. 

This special edition of the 2011 C6 Z06 boosted its top speed to even surpass the beloved C8 Z06 — it reaches 198 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. To celebrate Corvette's 50th anniversary of racing at the 24 Hours of LeMans, the C6 Z06 was given a performance boost — this carbon fiber build has a lower front lip and carbon ceramic breaks. Its V8 produces 505 hp, which is enough to make it a terror on the track. 

This limited edition model is tough to come by. Chevrolet originally planned to produce 500 but only 252 were actually made. It's highly unlikely you'll come across the 2011 C6 Z06 Carbon Edition, but if you do, expect to pay around $88,000 on average. It doesn't have the edgy looks of some of the more recent Corvette models but you'll have no problem keeping up.

This special edition model of the sixth-gen Z06 was built to celebrate Corvette's success at Le Mans, where the car brand took home 70 victories and eight championships. This road version of the C6-R was specifically to compete with European supercars. It has a top speed of 200 mph, can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 3.7 seconds, and produces 505 horsepower. There's a reason it's one of our favorite special edition Corvettes ever made. 

At the time of its release, the GTI Championship Edition came in three models — a coupe at $64,310, a convertible at $71,815, and the Z06 at $86,385. Back in 2009, Chevrolet wanted to produce 600 total special editions, releasing 200 of each model. Unfortunately, the global recession at the time limited Chevrolet to 125 GTI Championship Editions in all. It's very hard to come across this special vehicle.

It's been over five years and the 2019 C7 ZR1 remains one of the fastest Corvette models out there. The C7 ZR1 has a top speed of 210 mph and reaches 60 mph in just 2.85 seconds. It may not have the fastest acceleration of the Corvette lineup (that goes to E-Ray) but the eye-watering top speed is more than enough. With a V8 engine that produces 775 hp, the C7 ZR1 is plenty powerful but it also is known for its great handling. That has given the C7 ZR1 an advantage on the track over many other Corvette models.

While the previous generations of ZR1 have been fast, the C7 ZR1 really amped up the performance with a focus on horsepower. It's currently the ZR1 with the second highest horsepower (the C8 ZR1 is at the top), with the closest being the C6 ZR1 with 638 hp.

The upcoming 2025 C8 ZR1 will be the fastest Corvette ever made, reaching 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds and hitting 233 mph. This is also the top speed for an American car as well as a car under $1 million. The 2025 version of the ZR1 has a new LT7 engine, the most powerful V8 to be produced by an American automaker — it can reach 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 828 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm.

"Setting the top-speed record in the Corvette ZR1 is a true triumph for Corvette and for Chevrolet, and also an exhilarating, surreal experience for me personally," said General Motors president Mark Reuss. "With the current generation's switch to mid-engine, we knew the outstanding performance and balance made this a real possibility. To go over there and get it done is a testament to the power of ZR1, and to the incredibly talented team that developed and built it."