The C8 Corvette’s hybrid halo has arrived: It’s just called the ZR1X now.
Ever since the C8-generation Corvette debuted back in 2019, we’ve been waiting for a supposedly out-of-this-world hypercar version. Over the years, it’s common name has been the ‘Zora’: a hybrid Corvette with over 1,000 horsepower and all-wheel drive capability. It’s officially arrived as of Tuesday morning to build on the ZR1’s monstrous 1,064 horsepower with an even more potent version. There’s just one change we didn’t expect when we learned the official details — it’s called the ‘ZR1X’, and not the Zora.
This hybrid all-wheel drive 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1X is essentially a culmination of the last couple models we’ve gotten. There’s obviously some nuance that sets this model apart from its forebears, but if you want to boil it down to the raw formula, take a ZR1 and take an E-Ray…and you’re pretty much at the ZR1X. This model still gets the same 1,064-horsepower 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 as the ‘standard’ ZR1, but it also gets a 186-horsepower electric motor up front that work together for an eye-popping combined output of 1,250 horsepower.
As if the ZR1 wasn’t insanely quick enough, the ZR1X takes it a step further. 0-60 time? Under two seconds. Quarter-mile? Just under nine seconds. And all while maintaining a top speed of 233 mph (at least in base configuration — aero packages drop that figure down a bit while upping the ZR1X’s handling capability).
In fact, the nuance I mentioned pertains a fair bit to the electric motor involved here. While the core system is similar to the E-Ray, this ZR1X gets an amped up version that spins faster (up to 17,000 RPM) and stays engaged up to 160 mph. The 1.9-kWh hybrid battery pack is the same, but engineers increased the usable capacity of the pack by 29%, so you once again get more use of that front electric motor before it taps out and you’re just on the V8.
With that insane LT7 V8 and electric power onboard, you need a way to bring the car to a sharp halt when needed. Fortunately, the 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1X delivers on that front, with engineers fitting the so-called J59 package as standard equipment. That gets you 10-piston front calipers with six-piston rear calipers, as well as brake rotors that are equally big-huge, measuring 16.5 inches front and rear — the largest ever fitted to any production Corvette. While they come standard here, the J59 brake package will be an option on the standard ZR1 soon. On the ZR1X, Chevy’s engineers claim up to 1.9g of lateral deceleration while braking from 180 to 120 mph (a ton, in lay terms).
The performance upgrades don’t stop there, either. Chevy’s introducing its new Performance Traction Management (PTM) Pro system here that will filter out to all 2026 Corvettes, disabling the stability and traction controls, maintaining regen brake-based torque vectoring and launch control systems. Additional drive modes include Endurance (changing up the battery’s energy storage strategy for longer laps and consistent eAWD assistance), Qualifying (optimum power output for the best hot lap time), and Push-to-Pass (all the available power in a short burst when you need it).
Like the ZR1, the ZTK package makes a return for the ZR1X to make the experience even more hardcore. Opt for that setup, and you’ll get Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires in place of the ZR1/ZR1X’s standard Pilot Sport 4S rubber, as well as a firmer ride thanks to higher spring rates and the Carbon Aero pack, adding a Gurney lip, dive planes, underbody strakes and the most obvious touch: a gigantic rear wing.
The inside of the 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1X will feel familiar.
Moving past the performance changes, the monstrous horsepower and the consequently minimal 0-60 and quarter-mile times, the ZR1X is…a Corvette inside. Like all other 2026 models, the ZR1X gets the same interior update, eliminating the wall of buttons and bringing in a larger 12.7-inch infotainment screen, a 6.6-inch screen to the left of the instrument cluster and a host of other ergonomic improvements. Like the E-Ray, that left screen will output information on the hybrid battery’s status, while you’ll also be able to control the head-up display and PTM Pro system there.
The rest of the interior is standard Corvette, for all the different interior and seat belt color combinations you can get (and there are a fair few ways you can order it). Still, for the hypercars GM is targeting here — keep in mind this car makes the same sort of power as a Ferrari F80 or a McLaren W1 — it had to compromise somewhere to keep the price down, and it looks like the interior is the place.
Against a multi-million dollar price tag, the 2026 Chevy Corvette ZR1X will more than likely run its buyers around $250,000. You may think that’s insane for a Corvette, but against the crop of other supercars, this 1,250-horsepower hunk of American power still promises a hell of a value…as always, assuming you can actually get one at MSRP. Chevrolet will announce formal pricing details before the product launch, and said it would get ZR1Xs out to customers by the end of this year.
