First and foremost, after years of pledges and rumors, Team Corvette was finally allowed to reinvent 'America's sports car' from a traditional front-engine RWD machine with limited driving characteristics into a European sports car-beating mid-engine superstar.
The moment of truth came in 2019 when the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was introduced to the world.
Half a decade has passed since, and the Stingray Coupe or Convertible are beloved entry-level sports cars that can hold their own both against muscle cars like the 5.0-liter Coyote V8-equipped Ford Mustang GT as well as some of the European sports cars.
The company noticed C8's success and continued to invest in the vision of the team, so now we also have a 670-hp Z06 homologation model that rocks the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 engine in the world.
There's also the first-ever 655-hp E-Ray performance hybrid, which mixes the Stingray DNA with electrification to make it not only the first hybrid Corvette but also the first-ever with all-wheel drive. However, we have a feeling that GM's most important release of the year will be the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
It's the current flagship of the series – the rumored Zora hybrid is still in testing, and it may or may not come with more than 1,200 hp or simply bridge the gap between Z06 and E-Ray to ZR1 with around 850 ponies on tap.
Back to the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the new flagship was first showcased on July 25, 2024, at a private event in Miami, Florida. It brings its own premieres – it's the first one with twin turbos under the hood and also the most powerful Corvette to date.
In stark contrast to its forerunners, which used a supercharged V8, this model has a new LT7 twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 churning out no less than 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft (1,123 Nm) of torque at 7k and 6k rpm, respectively. Unlike the E-Ray but akin to the Stingray and Z06, the monster is only RWD, not all-wheel drive.
It also has an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and a dry weight of 3,670 pounds (1,660 kg) or 3,758 pounds (1,705 kilograms) when selecting the Convertible version. However, Chevrolet opted for a staggered approach regarding the performance capabilities.
So, in the middle of October, we found out that GM's president Mark Reuss drove the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 on a racetrack with an engineer beside him and made the 'Vette "the fastest car ever built by an American auto manufacturer" in the process. The amazing feat happened in Germany at the High-Speed Oval Track at ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg.
There, GM's president and his engineer sidekick drove the ZR1 to a maximum speed of 233 mph or 375 kph. He wasn't the only one – while testing, another five engineers and both ZR1 development cars exceeded 230 mph across multiple runs.
"Setting the top-speed record in the Corvette ZR1 is a true triumph for Corvette and for Chevrolet, and also an exhilarating, surreal experience for me personally," said Reuss. "With the current generation's switch to mid-engine, we knew the outstanding performance and balance made this a real possibility."
That's all fine and dandy, but how about the other figures? Well, it turns out we had to wait until it was almost Christmas to find out about the acceleration and quarter-mile dragstrip figures. So, a little more than two months later, we also know the official zero to 60 mph time – 2.3 seconds, as well as the quarter-mile run: 9.6 seconds at 150 mph.
By the way, if you want to compare apples and oranges, the Aston Martin Valkyrie hybrid hypercar with 1,160 hp, the plug-in hybrid, and AWD 1,001-hp Lamborghini Revuelto, as well as the all-electric Lotus Evija which has 2,012 horsepower, all blast to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds, too!
On the other hand, it's not the best quarter-mile time of a stock car at the local dragstrip – the limited-edition 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 still has a quoted quarter-mile time of 8.91 seconds. Alas, that's a drag-specific model that probably corners like a truck if you decide to use it as a daily driver.
One important thing is how much the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will ultimately cost when General Motors unleashes the model across dealer lots. Keep one thing in mind – it's the only car under one million dollars that can reach 233 mph.
However, with the E-Ray costing around $109k and the Z06 around $114k, the rumor mill widely expects the latest ZR1 to also come with a six-figure starting MSRP.
However, it won't be something like $999,999 to make the $1 million cut, but rather something below $200k – which could be as mind-blowing as the performance figures. The estimates are for $180k with nothing on it, and well-optioned models could hover above the $200k mark.
Of course, that's the starting MSRP and a hypothetical quotation with options. When it comes to dealerships, the greedy ones will surely try to sell it for the equivalent of a $500k Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II.
So, what do you think? Is Chevrolet going to surprise us positively once again – this time with an 'affordable' hypercar price tag?
