The Corvette ZR1 Needs A Split Window Because It Might Melt Otherwise
The Corvette’s iconic split window was only available for a few years during the C2 generation in the 1960s. Nonetheless, it’s one of the most iconic aspects of the sports car’s lineage. On the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, it’s back, and The Drive found out why. While it is undoubtedly a callback to the C2, the ZR1’s new carbon fiber spine is really there to evacuate truly absurd amounts of heat from the ZR1’s 1,000+ horsepower V8 engine.
Corvette chief engineer Tadge Jeuchter says the V8’s turbos reach around 1,000ºF (537ºC). Juechter tells The Drive “It’s all about getting the heat out of the engine compartment. When this car stops after being hot on the track, it’s just generating so much heat, it’s mind-boggling. When we go on our ride trips, you can see the heat sort of boiling out, and when somebody takes off hard, so much hot air comes out of the exhaust it’s like the whole car disappears into a mirage. You can see all these heatwaves coming out.”
First of all, the car shimmering in the mirage of its own waste heat like some sort of alien spacecraft is deeply cool. It’s also derived from Chevy’s race program, where the ventilation in the engine hatch has been used to similar effect for years in the C8. “People see it but it just hasn’t registered. It’s a road car, but the venting strategy is the same.”
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Chase is an automotive journalist with years of experience in the industry. He writes for outlets like Edmunds and AutoGuide, among many others. When not writing, Chase is in front of the camera over at The Overrun, his YouTube channel run alongside his friend and co-host Jobe Teehan. If he's not writing reviews of the latest in cars or producing industry coverage, Chase is at home in the driver's seat of his own (usually German) sports cars.
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Only the '63 had a split window.