At the moment, automakers are in a production holding pattern for their current models. That means we’re hardly seeing the brand new 2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray making it to owners until the Bowling Green, Kentucky assembly plant reopens, let alone any future models. That said, it’s still exciting to look to the future — particularly in times of crisis — and see just what GM supposedly has coming down the pike for its most powerful and advanced sports car yet. Thanks to a Hagerty report written by Don Sherman, there’s a clearer idea of everything we can expect through the C8 generation.
In short? Expect a lot more horsepower.
Previous reports already alluded to much more powerful Corvettes, but this information (albeit from unnamed industry sources) paint a more cohesive roadmap to GM’s suppliers, and by extension to those of us among the general public anxiously awaiting hotter Corvettes. Starting from the 2021 model that’s coming up when GM reboots reproduction, we have the current Chevy Corvette C8 Stingray. That car was revealed last year, packing a potent LT2 6.2-liter V-8 with 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque (with the Z51 Performance Package, at least). The LT2 is an evolution on the LT1 pushrod V-8 we saw in the C7 Corvette, but reworked for a mid-engined design.
Fast forward to the 2022 model year, and we may see a new Corvette Z06 emerge. According to earlier reports, that car could have an “LT6” 5.5-liter V-8 engine with up to 650 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. This is a new design that moves away from the pushrod-actuated Generation V LT engines to a dual overhead cam design with four valves per cylinder, instead of two. According to the chart, GM originally planned to launch the Z06 by 2022.
In 2023, the Corvette Grand Sport may emerge, with a hybridized version of the 6.2-liter LT2 V-8 found in the Stingray. Thanks to electrification, the Grand Sport should get a healthy bump in power. Here, the chart quotes a 600 horsepower and 500 lb-ft torque figure, up 105 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque from the naturally-aspirated version.
By 2024 and 2025, respectively, we’ll see the Corvettes everyone is anxiously awaiting. First up, the Corvette ZR1 — complete with a twin-turbocharged version of the 5.5-liter LT7 V-8. Moving away from both supercharging and a larger displacement, pushrod engine, this generation of ZR1 still manages a healthy boost on the old C7 generation. Here, we can expect up to 850 horsepower and 825 lb-ft of torque.
That’s not all…
Beyond that, there’s the halo: the flagship Corvette Zora. It should be the most powerful Corvette ever, thanks in no small part to an electrified platform. A hybridized 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 may reportedly kick out 1,000 horsepower and 975 lb-ft of torque. Since we’re quite a few iterations out from the “cheap and cheerful” Corvette Stingray, this one will likely be eye-wateringly expensive, beyond being spine-crushingly powerful when it does arrive.
Of course, one major caveat with this information remains about the dates. Thanks to recent production issues, it’s not unreasonable to assume all these launches to be pushed out about a year, while things return to some semblance of normal. That means we may see a Corvette Zora arrive in dealers for the 2026 model year, before the next generation model emerges.
Another caveat is that GM has confirmed none of this at this point, and company policy usually prohibits their representatives from commenting on future product. Nonetheless, Sherman’s report does corroborate many of the other reports we’ve seen, and this lays everything out in more of a logical time frame. We’ll post any more updates as we get more information. In the meantime, check out more on the C8 Corvette Stingray below:
