Chevy Corvette Z06 vs. McLaren 765LT: The Fastest Edmunds U-Drags Race Ever

• The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the McLaren 765LT battle it out on Edmunds' unique U-Drags track.
• The two combine for over 1,400 horsepower.
• With R-compound tires and crazy aero, these two supercars pulled the most extreme numbers we’ve ever seen at U-Drags.

This is a mid-engine battle for the memory books. Chevy’s new Z06 is the most extreme, track-focused Corvette in history, and it’s just begging to duke it out with some of the world’s quickest cars. So we brought out a certified monster in the McLaren 765LT, an even faster version of the already bonkers 720S. As you can imagine, this one didn’t take very long.

OK, here’s your quick prerace breakdown. The Corvette Z06 has a 5.5-liter V8 making 670 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque. It also revs to over 8,000 rpm and sounds insane while doing it. On paper, the McLaren 765LT is even more intense, producing 755 horsepower from its 4.0-liter V8 and weighing in at less than 3,000 pounds.

Edmunds U-Drags overview

A traditional drag race is all about straight-line speed, but true performance is about so much more than that. That’s why we invented U-Drags, a short head-to-head race format that tests acceleration, braking and handling. The two cars sprint to the quarter-mile mark, brake hard into a U-turn, then hustle back to the start. After that, we switch drivers and lanes and run it again to make sure both cars get a fair shot at glory.

This graphic below gives you a visual of how it all works. Check it out and then keep scrolling for all the details.

Let's nerd out

Watch the video to see the results for yourself, but here are some of the most significant stats from the two races. During the first round, both cars completed the sprint to 60 in less than three and a half seconds — 3.2 seconds for the Z06 and 3.4 for the McLaren. The highest cornering lateral force also belonged to the Corvette, pulling 1.14 g’s thanks to Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. But the top speed award goes to the 765LT, which crossed the finish line at a ballistic 160 miles per hour.

Race 2 mimicked the first go-round, only the McLaren was even faster off the line. The piping-hot Pirelli Trofeo R tires hooked up perfectly, sending the Big Mac to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds (on a very un-prepped surface). The Chevy ran an identical quarter mile in 10.9 seconds, which is incredible for a rear-wheel-drive car powered by a naturally aspirated engine.

Edmunds says

We say everyone is a winner today. It’s a crazy and awesome world where a Corvette sounds like a Ferrari and goes like a McLaren (well, almost). But credit where it’s due to the 765LT. It truly is one of the all-time great supercars.