New Corvette ZR1 Announced

If you see a ZR1 badge on a Corvette, expect something pretty wild. In 1990, the first ZR1 (C4 generation) packed 375hp, around 20% more than a Porsche 911 Turbo, and enough to set a 24-hour, 5,000-mile land speed record at an average of 175mph. The ZR1 skipped the C5 generation but came back with a bang in the C6, with 630hp from a supercharged 6.2-litre V8, all going to the rear wheels through a manual 'box. That sounds like quite the manly American experience, and it could manage 205mph if you got the cojones. The C7 was more of the same, by which I mean even more power. 755hp from a new supercharged 6.2-litre V8, still going through the rear wheels and still with the option of a manual gearbox, although for the first time, an eight-speed auto was also an option.

The C8 Corvette certainly isn't just more of the same though. The new mid-engined layout totally turned the Corvette on its head and caused a real stir, but it's allowed the car to take aim at some of the Europeans it just couldn't live with before, especially the Z06 with its howling flat-plane crank V8. Now, the ZR1 is here, but the delicacy of the Z06 has gone well out of the window, because the headline figure of the ZR1 is once again power, with a scarcely believable 1,078hp and 828 lb ft, and there ain't an electric motor in sight — ah, 'murcia!

The power comes from strapping two turbochargers to the Z06's 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8, gaining over 400hp from the Z06's 650hp. The turbos are integrated into the exhaust manifold for quicker spooling, there's a new intake system and ports, new exhaust, different cam profiles and valve timing, it's own pistons and rods and secondary port fuel injection, because one imagines this thing may have quite the appetite for juice.

So with all that power, it must be four-wheel drive, right? Nope! It's all through the rears alone through a beefed up version of the existing eight-speed DCT gearbox. The manual is no longer an option for the C8, though I doubt anyone will miss it with this amount of grunt to keep under control. Top speed is in excess of 215mph, and it's claimed it has hit over 200mph on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, which can only have been deeply terrifying, despite the 550kg of downforce it can produce at those speeds.

For that aero, you need the aerodynamics package available as part of the ZTK package, which includes a huge fixed rear wing, front dive planes, underbody aero, stiffer springs and Cup 2R tyres. The ZR1 is available as both coupe and convertible, with carbon roofs for both. Dry weight is 1,665kg for the coupe and 1,705kg for the convertible. So it's no featherweight and has biblical power, so it needs to be able to stop. Huge 400mm front and 390mm rear ceramic discs should see to that.

Design wise, even without the aero kit it's aggressive with huge front intakes, a flow-through bonnet to help cool air and add further downforce, and there are optional carbon wheels which are said to save 19kg. The full-size rear window has also been replaced by a split one, offering cooling for the hugely powerful motor and harking back to the early says of the C2 Stingray.

Production will be starting next year, although there's no word on if we'll be getting it here in Blighty.