The C7 Corvette ZR1 Will Have a Hard Time Topping the Lunacy of the C8 ZR1
The C7 Corvette ZR1 didn’t just dethrone the Z06 from the seventh-generation lineup; it danced around it in a thick fog of tire smoke. For the first and only time in the Corvette’s tenure, the Plastic Fantastic produced over 700 horsepower from the factory. However, the C7 ZR1’s time was short-lived, and the eighth-gen ‘Vette took over in 2020. Better yet, the previous generation will have difficulty defending its crown from the savagery of the upcoming C8 Corvette ZR1.
The upcoming C8 Corvette ZR1 may outmuscle the C7 Corvette ZR1 with a flat-plane soundtrack
In 2018, the 650-horsepower Chevrolet Corvette Z06 outmuscled the base-model Stingray by the better part of 200 horsepower. That’s a huge deal, but the Z06 didn’t enjoy the crown of your horsepower highness for long. No, for the 2019 model year, the C7 Corvette ZR1 arrived with a volcanic 755 horsepower, the most of any factory Corvette.Â
Here we are in 2024, and General Motors announced the summertime arrival of the C8 Corvette ZR1 in a teaser video. Before the video, the incipient C8 ZR1 was already a contentious topic. See, many fans were convinced that the upcoming ZR1 would be an electric-only affair. To them, even the hybrid E-Ray is sacrilegious.Â
However, the teaser piped in a high-revving soundtrack behind the graphics of smoke and the iconic badge. As such, it’s likely that a derivation of the C8 Z06’s Ferrari-esque 5.5L LT6 V8 will reside behind the cockpit of the upcoming ZR1. However, just as the previous generation dialed the Z06’s horsepower and handling credentials up to 11, we expect the new C8 model to follow suit.Â
Consequently, that means the C8 ZR1 will have to outmuscle the current Z06’s 670-horsepower output. To reach the next level of mind-blowing horsepower, Chevrolet will likely add forced induction in the form of twin-turbochargers.
Car and Driver says the C8 Corvette ZR1 will likely produce north of 800 horsepower. If that rings true, it will dethrone the C7 Corvette ZR1 as the most potent Corvette ever. Moreover, a twin-turbocharged C8 ZR1 would break another record; it would be the first factory mass-produced turbo Corvette.
