Wildest ‘Vette yet: 346km/h, 1000+hp Chevrolet revealed

We knew it was coming and promised to be something special, but the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 possesses some mind-boggling stats.

Chevrolet said they wanted its engineers and designers to push the boundaries and that they did, creating an American supercar with 782kW (1064hp), 1122Nm of torque, a top speed of 346km/h and 544kg of downforce (when fitted with its wild, race-bred aerodynamic package).

REVIEW: How the Chevrolet Corvette became America’s supercar

Even amid the recent wave of high-performance supercharged V8s like Dodge’s Hellcat and the Shelby Mustang, Chevrolet has made the ZR1 not only the most powerful Corvette ever built but also the most powerful V8 ever made in the USA from a car manufacturer.

“The team that revolutionized Corvette with a mid-engine architecture took on another challenge: take ZR1 to the next level,” explained Scott Bell, Chevrolet’s vice president. “Corvette ZR1 is about pushing the envelope with raw power and cutting-edge innovation. From Stingray, to Z06, E-Ray, and now ZR1, the Corvette family continues to elevate with each new iteration – and challenge the best in the world.”

At the heart of the ZR1 is the new LT7 engine, a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 – the first of its kind for Corvette. Based on the same ‘Gemini V8’ architecture as the LT6 flat-plane crank V8 engine in the Corvette Z06, the addition of the turbochargers is what takes it to the next level.

While the engine is the same, Chevrolet is offering the ZR1 in two distinctly different set-ups when it comes to the ride, handling and aerodynamic package. The ‘standard’ ZR1 (the blue car pictured) features a “sleeker body with lower drag and a small spoiler with customer-adjustable short and tall wickers” with staggered 20-inch front and 21-inch rear alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.

But, for those who want to take their ZR1 to the track (or just make sure everyone looks at them on the road), the ZTK performance packaged (featured on the yellow car pictured) takes things up a notch. It has what Chevrolet calls an “aggressive, high-downforce” rear wing, front dive planes and a tall Gurney lip on the bonnet; naturally all made from carbon fibre. It also gets unique underbody strakes, which replace the front underwing with stall gurney deflectors on the standard model.

One very cool and unique addition to the ZR1 is the return of the iconic split window, last seen on the 1960’s second-generation. What makes its return interesting is it isn’t purely for sentimental or aesthetic reasons but also serves a purpose by helping heat extraction from the now mid-mounted engine.

“We didn’t approach this decision lightly, we know this is a beloved element from Corvette’s history,” said Chevrolet’s executive design director, Phil Zak. “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.”