Indianapolis Motor Speedway has unveiled this year’s pace. Unlike the Daytona 500’s Chevy Blazer EV SS pace car, Indy has gone a far more traditional route. It will be using a 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 to pace the 109th running of the race. It’s also sporting an impressively classy livery for the job.
Green, Gold, And Carbon Fiber
Not much has changed to get the ZR1 ready for pace car duty. The whole powertrain and suspension are left alone, which makes sense since the ZR1 already boasts 1,064 horsepower and 828 pound-feet of torque from its twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter double-overhead cam V8. That’s actually more power than the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid powertrains used in current Indy race cars. The open wheelers produce a maximum output of around 900 horsepower, according to IndyCar.
The pace car is outfitted with the Carbon Fiber Aero Package, which adds a front splitter, dive planes, side skirts and a tall rear wing. All those parts allow the ZR1 to generate up to 1,200 pounds of downforce. The package costs $8,495 if you’re in the market, and is probably a solid investment if you’re planning on hitting the track frequently. It’s also not the most expensive option, as the pace car is further fitted with the optional exposed carbon fiber wheels. These add $13,995 to the price of a ZR1. Aside from those options, it seems the pace Corvette is mostly stock except for the livery, which features impressively classy dark green and gold stripes over white paint. It’s nice enough that we think maybe Chevrolet should consider offering it on a limited-run pace car edition like with past Corvettes.
Related
Chevy’s Blazer SS Makes More Power Than It Was Supposed To
It has enough juice to pace the Daytona 500 without any performance changes.
A Long Tradition Of Corvette Pace Cars
If it seems like there have been a lot of Chevy and Corvette pace cars over the years, well, it’s because that’s the case. This year will mark the 36th year that a Chevy has been a pace car, and the 22nd year that it has been a Corvette. So for approximately one in three Indy 500s, a Chevrolet has been the pace car, and one in five have been Corvettes. This year’s car will lead the pack on May 25th, and this year’s honorary pace car driver will be former NFL player and current Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan.
Source: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar
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