'America's sports car' was finally reborn at the turn of the current decade with help from Team Corvette as the engineers and designers finally got approval from the corner office head honchos to morph the legendary nameplate into a contemporary mid-engine sports car.
The icon grew more potent due to the daring move and is now widely considered even better than some European sports cars. Of course, the 495-hp Stingray Z51 model was just the appetizer. This 'base' entry was supposed to demonstrate that it's well-balanced, a stunner, and also an astonishing driving companion when at the local racetrack.
Moving on, Chevrolet even dared to become a 'Ferrari killer' with its record-breaking 670-hp FPC V8 mill fitted inside the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Currently, that one is making the rounds of quarter-mile dragstrip enthusiasts while eager customers are waiting for the first deliveries of the inaugural Corvette E-Ray, a hybridized version with eAWD and 655 horsepower on tap. But wait, as there is more, much more.
Team Corvette is currently head-over-heels in love with the development procedures for the next installment of the C8 Chevy Corvette saga – the high-performance ZR1 model. On this occasion, it won't even be the current iteration's flagship because the rumor mill thinks a 'Zora' version is also in the works, and instead, it's supposed to be the supercar version of the Z06 homologation model.
Well, we have high hopes that it will represent yet another cool surprise – not just a Z06 with a pair of turbos strapped to its FPC V8 mill, as some might suggest. And the latest spy pictures and videos show the ZR1 is indeed 'adequately' loud when flaunting its twin-turbo LT7 mill at the Nürburgring Nordschleife as the engineers actually had to fit some additional exhaust elements to make sure the Corvette will observe the track's loudness limits!
Of course, since the rumor mill is so interested in what goes on with the ZR1, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators is never too far behind with a vision or two regarding the potential looks of the high-performance Corvette. Cue the good folks over at the REC Trends channel on YouTube who discuss the latest automotive rumors and also paint a CGI picture (probably with help from AI assistance) – in this case the C8 ZR1.
As per the rumors, the host believes that the 2025 C8 Chevy Corvette ZR1 will land at dealerships sometime late next year with the twin-turbo V8 and more than 800 horsepower, plus a lot of carbon fiber elements to keep it as light as possible. Its price will also make it a true Ferrari and Lambo killer because it would be unbeatable at around $150k.
However, the resident pixel master is only preoccupied with the looks, hence the orange and white attempts at showcasing the ZR1 ahead of time. One version is taking things to additional extremes, while the other is playing subtly with elements from the C7 Corvette ZR1, like the black hood elements, while also mixing the style with the C8's signature design cues.
So, what do you think – is the C8 on its way to destroying the supercar field? And will the company change the Corvette as subtly as possible to keep the costs down, or will the Team prevail and get a blank sheet of paper to play with and create the Chevy of their dreams?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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