As you hoped, the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is an absolute unit of a sports car.
The eighth-generation Corvette has brought a lot of new to Chevy’s flagship sports car. It’s the first mid-engined Corvette, even the “base model” Stingray boasts a sub-3-second 0-60 time, and with even the Z06 costing less than half your typical supercar, the C8 has been charging from strength to strength over the past four years. Now, though, the daddy of all Corvettes has arrived: the all-new, turbocharged ZR1.
Yep, check another box in the “new” column. Rocking Chevy’s LT7 engine — a twin-turbocharged and heavily upgraded version of the Z06’s 5.5-liter V8 — the 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 puts out…*checks notes*…oh, only 1,064 horsepower and 868 lb-ft of torque. And that’s just the start.
If you think the new Corvette ZR1 can charge through the quarter-mile in under 10 seconds, you’d be absolutely right. If you think it can post a 200-mph-plus top speed, you’d be right: This new ZR1 tops out at 215 mph. And around the Nürburgring, all four test drivers closed a peak speed over 200 mph on their very first laps. So, needless to say we’re looking at something incredibly special here.
To create the LT7 as part of its “Gemini V8” architecture that spawned the Z06’s powertrain, GM’s engineers “changed and optimized” the initial offering for forced induction. That includes unique head castings with unique ports and a larger CNC machined combustion chamber, tweaked valvetrain timing and lift profile with exhaust valves meant to handle higher temperatures, and a completely new intake system to accommodate the two turbochargers.
Speaking of the turbochargers, the dual, ported shroud, ball bearing, mono-scroll turbos integrate with the exhaust manifold and also utilize electronic wastegates, with a shorter distance from the exhaust valves to the turbine wheel to spool up that 1,000-plus horsepower posthaste. Since we’re talking about nearly 400 horsepower more than the Z06, the LT7 also gets added block and head machining to improve cooling, changes to counterweights to accommodate different pistons and connecting rods, and a secondary port fuel injection system to support the fuel demands for such massively increased output.
Chevy changed up the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, too
When you’re talking about a production, street-legal sports car with more than 1,000 horsepower on tap, engineers also give the rest of the drivetrain a thorough going over. That includes the 8-speed dual clutch, which Chevrolet says its improved with inner and outer input shaft upgrades, stronger gears via shot peening, final drive changes, improved oil management to support harder acceleration and cornering capability, and increased control valves to accommodate higher clutch clamp load to get all that power to the rear wheels.
Each LT7 engine is hand-assembled by master engine builders within GM’s Performance Build Center, which is part of the Bowling Green plant in Kentucky.
Unlike other models, the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 also changes up the game in terms of aerodynamics, suspension and braking performance. On the styling front, this top-dog Corvette is a step above the others with that massive rear wing and dive planes at the front, but there’s obviously more to talk about. The ZR1 actually loses its frunk for the sake of a flow-through hood that not only improves cooling by pulling air through a heat exchanger, but also improves downforce. The rear wing naturally helps in that pursuit as well, as does front underwing strakes and gurney flaps. All of the aerodynamic bits, as part of an available Carbon Aero package, offer up to 1,200 pounds of extra downforce at over 200 mph. You can also get Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and stiffer springs as part of the “ZTK” package.
With that much sheer speed, of course the 2025 Corvette ZR1 packs some monstrous brakes. With specially designed carbon ceramic units, you get 15.7 inches of rotor up front and 15.4 inches out back. To help bring the overall weight down, you also get a carbon fiber roof. The staggered wheel/tire setup includes 20-inch wheels at the front and 21-inch wheels out back, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires (in a 275/30-ZR20 & 345/25-ZR21 configuration front to rear).
Inside the new Corvette ZR1
Interestingly, the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 gets surprisingly normal once you hop inside. You can even get it as a convertible, if you want.
You still get the same driver-focused setup, with buttons for the dual-clutch transmission close to hand as well as a long, narrow bank of center switches. That said, you do get a carbon fiber and leather-wrapped steering wheel with carbon fiber shift paddles. Behind the wheel, there’s a 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster and an 8.0-inch infotainment touch screen. At the back, you get the same cargo volume as any other Corvette, at 9.1 cubic feet.
The new ZR1 gets a host of unique touches, of course, including special badges and plagues inside and out. The 3LZ trim brings in special stitching on the doors, and you can get it in Habanero orange, and you can get a blue stitching option. In other words, if there are any Broncos fans out there with enough cheddar to pick up a ZR1, you have to get that color combination.
Chevy says the new Corvette ZR1 will go into production at Bowling Green (where else?) in 2025. The company did not share pricing details, which is a little frustrating. That said, if you have to ask, you know good and well it will cost way more than the E-Ray’s $106,000 asking price. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be too surprised if this model commanded a cool $200,000. And that’s assuming you can get one at MSRP, which given the C8’s pricing history over the past several years…yeah, good luck with that.
