Roshan Poptani of BoostDistrict has recently strapped a 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray to a dynamometer. Before upgrading the small-block V8 with a pair of turbos, the big kahuna decided to show us how much of the crankshaft power gets to the wheels of the first-ever hybrid Corvette.
The first two of five pulls were done at fewer than 500 miles on the clock, and the third at 500 miles with a cold engine. However, during the third run, the Dynojet recorded a best of 597.78 pound-feet (810.48 Nm) from the 6.2-liter engine and front-mounted electric drive unit. Weirdly enough, that's better than the 592 pound-feet (approximately 803 Nm) of torque advertised by the Chevrolet division.
Crankshaft power is 495 horsepower for the LT2, whereas the 160-hp electric motor brings the grand total to 655 horsepower. The most Roshan could squeeze out from the all-wheel-drive sports car was 524.45 horsepower in the fourth pull, with a warm engine at 501 miles (806 kilometers) on the clock. Provided that the Dynojet was properly calibrated for a combustion vehicle with an electrically-driven front axle, that's 80.06% of the advertised power output; or otherwise put, 19.94% drivetrain losses.
Still impressive, though, and it's even more so when you remember that E-Ray wheel horsepower is better than Stingray crankshaft horsepower. Going forward, Roshan and the guys at BoostDistrict will equip the mid-engine thriller with a couple of PT6466 turbos for up to a theoretical 1,200 hp.
Depending on the area over radius ratio, the Extreme Turbo Systems Gen2 PT6466 is either $2,214.49 for the 0.82 A/R or $2,368.98 for the 1.05 A/R. Be that as it may, turbocharging a C8 Corvette takes a lot more than only the turbos. To this effect, Roshan entices prospective customers with a target price – including installation and tuning – of $20,000 for the C8 Corvette twin-turbo package.
Photo: BoostDistrict on YouTube
Said turbo pack will be stocked in-house, and it's compatible with the flat-plane crankshaft V8 engine of the 8,600-rpm Z06 as well. Come summer 2024 for the 2025 model year, General Motors will turbocharge the LT6 for the ZR1, therefore creating the LT7. Rather than a flat-plane crankshaft, the LT7 could use a cross-plane crank. How come?
As per a leak from the GM parts catalog, the ZR1-specific LT7 uses Active Fuel Management, which is GM vernacular for cylinder deactivation. AFM can turn off half of the cylinders (one bank of cylinders in a V engine), while the newer Dynamic Fuel Management offers 17 distinct patterns. Believe it or not, DFM boasts one-cylinder mode.
The LT6 of the Z06 doesn't have AFM, and to date, AFM graced cross-plane crankshaft motors exclusively. Given the aforementioned, you should expect a slightly lower redline for the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Think over 7,000 revolutions per minute but not quite 8,000 rpm.
With over 800 force-fed horsepower as opposed to the Z06's 670 free-breathing ponies, the ZR1 will be crowned the most powerful series-production car in GM history. At the moment of reporting, the 755-horsepower C7 Corvette ZR1 still holds the title.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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