2025 Chevrolet C8 Corvette ZR1: All The Details

The new LT7 engine produces 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 828 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm

Corvette ZR1 boasts a GM-estimated top speed of over 215 mph on the racetrack and will dispatch the quarter mile with a GM-estimated sub-10-second time.

ZR1’s 5.5L LT7 twin-turbocharged DOHC V8 engine starts with the same architecture as Z06’s LT6

Purposeful carbon fiber aero package creates over 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speed.

ZR1 revives one of the most iconic styles in Corvette history: the split rear window.

“We went into the ZR1 program with lofty goals, but even our first development tests on-track showed the teams were already exceeding them,” said Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer, Corvette. “As we worked to develop this car, we continued to leap past expectations, and we knew we had a special Corvette on our hands.”

The Corvette ZR1’s cockpit dials up the attention to detail, notably with unique ZR1 badging found on an interior plaque, the sill plates and steering wheel. A new finishing stitch pattern for the doors, specific to ZR1, is available on the 3LZ trim. A boost gauge is also present, denoting the first factory turbocharged Corvette in the nameplate’s history.

Corvette ZR1’s optional ZTK performance package unlocks a true track weapon. Notably, the ZTK package adds an aggressive, high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood Gurney lip – all constructed from woven carbon fiber. Underneath, underbody strakes replace the standard front underwing stall Gurney to increase front downforce. The suspension tuning included in the ZTK package incorporates stiffer springs and adds Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.

The standard Corvette ZR1 chassis arrives with a sleeker body with lower drag and a small spoiler with customer-adjustable short and tall wickers. It also includes a standard carbon-fiber front splitter, rocker moldings, side intake with integrated brake cooling, and front underwing with stall gurney deflectors. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires wrap 20-inch front, and 21-inch rear wheels.

Corvette ZR1 dispatches the world’s toughest tracks with ease, not only with the power from the 5.5L LT7 engine, but also due to additional, specific aerodynamic and cooling changes found throughout the car. These include:

• Flow-through hood: Air enters the front grille, flows through the intercooler heat exchanger and exits the hood to increase front downforce and cool charged air temperatures.
• Carbon fiber side profile air ducts: Clean, cool air is funneled through ducts, which are cleanly integrated into the signature wishbone bezel behind the cabin doors to cool the rear brakes through an intricately designed system that doesn’t impact rear wheel travel
• Unique fresh air intake ducts: Carbon fiber inlets located on top of the coupe rear hatch ingest air to cool the turbo compressor inlet air temperatures

All four ZR1 test drivers clocked over 200 mph peak speed on their very first laps at the Nürburgring with ease.

Corvette ZR1 will enter production in 2025 and will be built at General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky.

Teams looked at every component of Corvette ZR1 to ensure cooling and aerodynamics remained top of mind, and any change accomplished the car’s mission: performance.

Providing further choice to customers, the Corvette ZR1 will provide a roster of customization between exterior and interior colors. Shared with the 2025 Corvette lineup, new colors such as Competition Yellow, Hysteria Purple and Sebring Orange headline updates. The latter recalls a fan-favorite hue from the previous C7-generation Corvette ZR1.

Inside, a new Habanero interior is available, as is a Blue Stitch option. Various full-length racing stripes, brake caliper colors, including an exclusive blue for the calipers, seat belt colors and more will also be available.

The LT7 engine is purpose-built to accomplish its four-figure horsepower mission with no compromises in componentry and maintains the rev-happy character that is the heart of the Gemini V8 engine family. It will be hand-assembled by the master engine builders at the Performance Build Center, part of the Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky.

Dubbed the “Gemini V8” architecture, the LT6 program was only the beginning as engineers dual-pathed a goal: to create massive power, capability and character from naturally aspirated and turbocharged flat plane crankshaft twin engines. With these goals in mind, engineers did not create an LT6 with turbochargers, but instead changed and optimized virtually every system for a boosted application.

Corvette ZR1’s 5.5L, twin-turbo DOHC flat-plane crank LT7 engine is the result of engineering prowess and pushing the boundaries of what the engine architecture can do. Thoughtful planning produced the best performance from forced induction, married with the 5.5L flat-plane engine architecture.

Unique to the 5.5L LT7 twin-turbo V8:

• Head castings with unique ports and a larger combustion chamber
• Valve train timing and lift profile optimized for forced induction with higher exhaust temp enabling exhaust valves
• Completely new intake system tuned for twin turbochargers
• CNC machined combustion chamber, exhaust and intake ports specific to the LT7
• Dual, ported shroud, ball bearing, mono-scroll (76 mm) turbochargers integrated with the exhaust manifold to reduce the volume and distance from the exhaust valve to the turbine wheel for quick response with electronic wastegates
• Intelligent anti-lag engine calibration techniques specifically for ZR1 that adapt and react to driving style

The LT7 engine also builds upon this engine architecture with:

• Added block and head machining to support turbo cooling and oiling
• Counterweight changes to account for a unique piston, and unique connecting rod for the crank train
• A secondary port fuel injection system added to deliver the needed additional fuel to support the engine’s massive output