2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Continues Nurburgring Testing, ZTK Rear Wing Looks Massive

Discontinued in 1995, the ZR-1 would return as ZR1 (could you make up your mind, General Motors?) for the sixth generation of the ‘Vette. A supercharged monster developed under the internal codename Blue Devil, this fellow pumps out a staggering 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet (819 Nm). Bear in mind it was December 2007, an era during which the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition made 641 hp and 605 lb-ft (820 Nm).

Rightfully so, General Motors described the C6-gen ZR1 as being a supercar. The biggest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit obviously improved on this recipe for the subsequent C7, which soldiers on as the most powerful series-production ‘Vette ever. Offered for the 2019 model year exclusively, the latest and greatest ZR1 thus far could be had with either a manual or a torque-converter automatic.

Although it features the 6.2-liter small block of the Z06, the ZR1 boasts a different supercharger and something unique among LT engines. More specifically, both direct fuel injection and port fuel injection, thus resulting in 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet (969 Nm) of tire-shredding torque. It’s going to get even crazier with the C8, though…

Spied testing at the Nurburgring since the beginning of October 2023, the C8-gen ZR1 goes big on aero with a choice of two rear wings. The standard wing appears to be similar in design to that of the Z06 with the Z07 package, whereas the larger wing – most likely bundled in the ZTK package – clearly offers a helluva lot of downforce. For reference, the previous gen topped 950 pounds (431 kilograms).

Pictured with both rear wing designs, the prototypes caught by the carparazzi during Industry Pool testing both feature humongous air vents in the front hood. That’s not for airing whatever stuff happens to hide in the frunk, though. You can think of those vents as GM’s take on the Ferrari S-Duct system, an aerodynamic solution that improves front-end downforce with a small uptick in terms of drag.

Look even closer, and you’ll further notice additional vents in the rear quarter panels and in the rear deck lid. Why does the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 need so much air out back? Put simply, it sports a twin-turbo version of the LT6 in the Z06, an engine that GM refers to as the LT7.

Equipped with Michelin super-sticky rubber and Z06-like staggered wheels (smaller up front, larger out back), the ZR1 further sweetens the deal with a Z06-inspired center exhaust system with four exhaust outlets. Most likely equipped with a beefed-up version of the Z06’s dual-clutch transaxle, the ZR1 is believed to produce something like 800 horsepower at the very least or 850 ponies tops.

There’s no denying it’s way torquier than the Z06 and the Stingray, and chances are the LT7 engine may also put the E-Ray’s hybrid setup to shame. In any case, the ZR1 won’t be cheap. If the 2019 model used to start at $112,700 for the coupe, $130,000 would hardly be a surprise for the 2025 model year.