Twin-Turbo 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Unleashed With Over 1,000 Horsepower
The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is back and unsurprisingly more powerful than ever. However, we certainly didn’t expect this much power.
Blessed not with an electrified powertrain but rather a twin-turbocharged, 5.5-litre DOHC flat-plane crank LT7 V8, which happens to feature a larger combustion chamber and completely revised intake system, the new 2025 Corvette ZR1 cranks out an insane 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 828 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm. It’s the most powerful V8 ever produced in America from an auto manufacturer.
- Also: 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray: Performance-Enhancing Electrons
- Also: 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Will Cost You a Lot More
By comparison, the previous-generation ZR1’s supercharged 6.2-litre V8 produced 755 horsepower. The current Corvette Z06, which also uses a 5.5-litre V8 but without the dual turbos, delivers 670 horsepower. The gas-electric Corvette E-Ray? Only 655 horsepower.
Chevrolet curiously did not reveal 0-60 mph or 0-100 km/h acceleration times, but it did claim a quarter-mile run in less than 10 seconds and a top speed in excess of 346 km/h. By the way, power is still handled by an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, except that the unit has been reinforced and optimized for the ZR1.
In order to help the car fulfill its immense potential, engineers fitted a massive carbon fibre wing in the rear that contributes to over 1,200 lbs of downforce at top speed, which is unprecedented in Corvette history. It’s part of the optional, track-focused ZTK performance package, which also includes a stiffer suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.
Otherwise, the standard, more road-focused configuration boasts a sleeker body with lower drag and a small spoiler with customer-adjustable short and tall wickers. It also includes a standard carbon fibre front splitter, rocker mouldings and front underwing with stall gurney deflectors. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires wrap 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels (carbon wheels are optional). Meanwhile, the front rotors grow to 400 mm in diameter—the largest ever equipped on the Corvette—and the rear rotors grow to 390 mm.
Of course, it’s impossible not to talk about the return of the iconic split rear window, which was last seen on the second-generation Corvette and quietly previewed on the Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car.
“We didn’t approach this decision lightly, we know this is a beloved element from Corvette’s history,” Executive Design Director Phil Zak said. “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.”
While serving as a statement piece, this carbon fiber “spine” between the two rear windows, available in exposed weave or body colour, provides increased heat extraction from the engine bay, working in parallel with numerous other cooling elements throughout the car.
Naturally, customers will have a plethora of options to choose from. Shared with the 2025 Corvette lineup, new body colours such as Competition Yellow, Hysteria Purple and Sebring Orange headline updates, the latter brought back from the previous ZR1. Inside, a new Habanero interior is available, as is a Blue Stitch option.
The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is slated to enter production next year at the Bowling Green assembly plant in Kentucky. The company will share further details on price and availability closer to launch.
