Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Races A U.S. Navy Fighter Jet

Chevrolet’s supercharged Corvette ZR1 and a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet aren’t supposed to be in the same conversation, let alone the same race. With 638 horsepower and a 3.3-second 0-60 time, the “Blue Devil” actually had a shot in a short sprint to 100 mph, even against a jet capable of Mach 1.8. Motor Trend got rare clearance to find out which one actually got there first.

Chevy‘s awesome “Blue Devil” – the Corvette ZR1 – against its toughest adversary yet: a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.

On paper, this race should not have been close — a car, however fast, going up against a fighter jet capable of nearly 1,400 mph. But Motor Trend‘s editor got a rare green light to line up a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 against a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet for a real side-by-side sprint, and the numbers involved on both sides make it clear why anyone would even bother trying. The catch is that a drag race to 100 mph isn’t the same contest as a race to top speed, and that distinction is exactly what made this matchup worth filming in the first place. Which machine actually got there first?

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638 Horsepower Against 32,000 Pounds of Thrust

The Corvette ZR1 nicknamed the “Blue Devil” packed a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 rated at 638 horsepower, enough to hit 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds, while its opponent’s twin engines produced a combined 32,000-plus pounds of thrust and a top speed near Mach 1.8, or roughly 1,400 mph. On paper the jet wins any contest that runs long enough for it to build real speed, since nothing about a car’s tires or gearing can compete with afterburners once airspeed climbs.

Why the Race to 100 mph Was the Point

The test wasn’t a race to top speed but a sprint to 100 mph, a distance short enough that the ZR1’s instant traction and quick-revving V8 could, at least for a moment, keep pace with a jet still spooling up off the runway. Motor Trend editor-at-large Arthur St. Antoine drove the Corvette in the matchup, and the short-run format turned what should have been a foregone conclusion into a genuinely close, camera-worthy sprint before the Hornet’s raw thrust took over.

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