The most powerful factory Corvette ever built makes 1,064 horsepower and wears enough vents and aerodynamic enhancements to look more like a Transformer than a car you can buy and park in your driveway. But it will start rolling out factory doors late next year, bound for dealerships.
Chevrolet last night launched the 2025 Corvette ZR1 – likely the ultimate version of the current, eighth-generation Corvette. Executives and engineers kept many details quiet. We don’t know a 0-60 mph time, for instance, or a price.
We do know the top speed will be “over 215 mph.”
But Chevrolet teased fans with stories of its performance, like, “All four test drivers clocked over 200 mph peak speed on their very first laps at the Nürburgring with ease.” They noted, “Engineers clocked a sub-10-second quarter-mile time on the Corvette ZR1’s first launch.”
We wonder what it can do with the tires warmed up.
A New Engine To Lust After – the LT7
The heart of the beast is the LT7, a hand-built 5.5-liter twin-turbo flat-plane crank V8 putting out an astonishing 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. Chevrolet says it “produces more power than two LS7 engines, the legendary 7.0L V-8 from the sixth-generation Corvette Z06 – akin to one LS7 engine per bank.”
It sends power through an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with stronger input shafts and shot-peened gears to handle the force.
The Magnetic Selective Ride Control 4.0 suspension handles the balance. If you spring for the ZTK package, you get stiffer springs and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires to go with it.
More Than 1,200 Pounds of Downforce
Straight-line speed is one engineering challenge. Cornering speed is another. That one is solved with downforce.
All those ostentatious aerodynamic bits have a purpose – Chevrolet says they produce over 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed.
The flow-through hood sends cooling air to the heat exchanger, of course. But even it is sculpted to press the car down at high speeds.
The standard ZR1 gets “a small spoiler with customer-adjustable short and tall wickers.” The ZTK package adds “an aggressive, high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood Gurney lip – all constructed from woven carbon fiber.” It also adds a unique underbody with downforce-inducing strakes.
Reeling it all in are carbon-ceramic brake rotors – 15.7 inches in the front and 15.4 in the back. Chevy claims a surge from 80 to 200 mph and back 22% quicker than the last-generation ZR1.
A Nod To History…
With all that futuristic tech, you might expect the 2025 Corvette ZR1 to leave you to assume its history. But designers worked in a fantastic nod to classic ‘Vettes – a split rear window. Yes, like the C2 Stingray of late-60s fame.
“We didn’t approach this decision lightly, we know this is a beloved element from Corvette’s history,” said Phil Zak, executive design director, Chevrolet. “Not only does this element provide function, but we were able to integrate passionate design into the form and do it in a way that paid homage to Corvette’s history. ZR1 felt like the right time to bring the split window back.”
The split, in keeping with the spirit of this aero beast, is functional. The spline that provides it is vented to extract heat from the engine compartment.
Inside, the ergonomics are familiar to those who have been in any eighth-generation ‘Vette. But ZR1-specific touches include the first boost gauge in a Corvette, ZR1 badging, and a new door stitch pattern.
… And a New Place In It
The Corvette has always been America’s most iconic sports car. But since it went mid-engine for the 2020 model year, its meaning has changed.
It’s no longer something beautiful and aspirational for working people to dream of owning one day. It’s now a true supercar, competing with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren. Corvettes are now a fixture of endurance racing alongside European supercars, often ahead of them. Every time GM pushes out a new uber-‘Vette, the numbers get more monstrous.
The most amazing thing about the current Corvette may be that it’s still available for around $70,000. No doubt the ZR1 will cost more than twice that. But you can get a sports car built on the same bones as this 1,000-plus-horsepower, 215-plus-mph beast for a five-figure sum.
The ZR1 will be a rarity. But it will sell a lot of more pedestrian Corvettes that still make children smile as they go by.
