2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1: King of the Hill climbs new heights

• 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful gas-powered American production car ever
• ZR1’s twin-turbo LT7 V-8 uses turbos to spin up 1,064 hp
• ZTK Performance Package generates more than 1,200 pounds of downforce

We expected 850 horsepower for the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. We’re getting 1,064 hp instead. That makes the ZR1 not only the most powerful Corvette of all time, but also the most powerful gas-powered American production car of all time, Chevy boasted on Thursday. If the 375-hp 1990 Corvette ZR1 was the King of the Hill, this one is the King of Mount Everest.

The power comes courtesy of the new LT7 twin-turbocharged dual-overhead-cam 5.5-liter V-8. It’s a version of the Z06’s LT6 670-hp V-8. Chevy engineers knew the LT6 and LT7 would be related from the start, so they called the duo Small Block Gemini. The pair share a flat-plane-crank design, as well as the same block, valvetrain, direct-injection system, and lubrication system. The LT7, however, gets a pair of 76-mm turbochargers that blow up to 20 psi of boost on the engine to increase total output to 1,064 hp at 7,000 rpm and 828 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm, with at least 800 lb-ft at the ready from 3,000-6,500 rpm.

Adding the turbos also required changes. The block gets additional machining, the head’s intake and exhaust ports are revised, the combustion chambers are larger, the cam profiles change, port injection is added, the crank train is beefed up with bigger rods and pistons, and a seventh dry sump stage is added. The compression ratio also falls from 12.5:1 down to 9.8:1 and the redline drops from 8,600 to a still high 8,000 rpm. Chevy says an electronically actuated wastegate reduces turbo lag, especially once the vehicle is under way. With 5.5 liters of displacement, it doesn’t need that much help from a start, though. In fact, engineers had to limit torque on the 1-2 shift because the available power can be too excessive.

The turbos hang off the sides of the engine, and Chevy said they wouldn’t have fit under the hood of a front-engine car (that’s why the last ZR1’s V-8 extended upward with a supercharger instead of outward with turbos). A total of 15 heat exchangers keep the powertrain from getting too hot, and that includes a new intercooler mounted up front and a pair of much larger charge air coolers located between the turbos and intake manifold. That manifold sports a blue texture that Chevy associates with the ZR1.

Chevy isn’t giving many performance figures yet, noting that some of that stuff needs to be done with cars that aren’t covered in camouflage. However, engineers expect a quarter-mile time of 9.7 seconds at 150 mph and a top speed in excess of 215 mph. Chevy also says the car can go from 80 to 200 to 80 mph in 24.5 seconds, 22% quicker than the C7 ZR1.

Soon-to-retire Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter told Motor Authority that the ZR1 has put up seven-minute times at the Nürburgring with him at the wheel in traffic and using a standing start, implying faster times are likely. Whether Chevy can put up an official ’Ring time will depend on if the Corvette team can get the track time and good weather conditions, among other hurdles. Chevy also noted that four ZR1s have exceeded 200 mph on the ’Ring’s longest straight.

Expect top speed, 0-60 mph, and times at other tracks (Virginia International Raceway likely among them) to be announced closer to the car’s on-sale date. Same goes for pricing, though that should start in the upper $100,000s and top $200,000 with the available ZTK Performance Package. More on that in a bit.

The 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission remains the only choice, but it had to be revised to handle the ZR1’s grunt. It has wider gear profiles, stronger shafts, and improved lubrication.

Stronger brakes are also needed to arrest the ZR1’s higher speeds. They use carbon-ceramic rotors and the fronts grow to 15.7 inches in diameter from 15.4 inches while retaining 6-piston calipers. They are also slightly wider in cross section and they get a semi-polished appearance instead of the Z06’s raw carbon look. The rears are 15.4 inches across with 4-piston calipers.

More speed and more power required more downforce and more cooling ducts for both the coupe and convertible body styles. Up front, the base ZR1 increases downforce with a carbon-fiber splitter, an underwing with stall Gurney deflectors, and a flow-through hood. The side intakes add brake ducts at their trailing edges, and the coupe gets new intakes on top of the rear fenders to supply more air to the engine. The coupe also gets a functional take on the 1963 Corvette’s rear split-window design, with louvers along its center spine and outboard edges for more airflow. It will be offered in body color or exposed-weave carbon fiber. Both body styles also gain carbon-fiber roofs. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires wrap around 20-inch front and 21-inch rear alloy wheels, which can be had in Edge Blue. A new 10-spoke carbon-fiber wheel is optional.

The ZTK Performance Package takes things up a few notches. It adds a big carbon-fiber rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood Gurney lip. Underneath, strakes replace the Gurney deflectors. The package gives the ZR1 more than 1,200 pounds of downforce at its so-far unrevealed top speed. It also rides on Michelin Pilot Cup 2R tires, which are just shy of slicks and will provide lots of grip. Chevy said the wing will be available separately, and the whole ZTK aero treatment can be ordered as the Carbon Aero package for the base ZR1.

All told, the ZR1 additions will increase the weight about 200 pounds over the Z06 with a dry weight of 3,670 pounds for the coupe and 3,758 pounds for the convertible. Chevy says the suspension tuning will be slightly softer than the very track-focused Z06. The ZTK package will be stiffer, but not as stiff as the Z06 with its Z07 Performance Package.

Interior changes amount to only ZR1 badges and a slightly different door upholstery pattern.

The 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 is due to hit dealers next year.

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