Photo: Peter Chilelli / midenginecorvetteforum.com
Among the many good folks over at MidEngineCorvetteForum.com, there are also people who can easily transfix their imagination into reality - albeit only digitally. But maybe that's enough for us, for the time being, to quench our thirst for C8 Chevy Corvette ZR1 novelties.
So, most automotive enthusiasts know very well that Chevrolet's Corvette – aka 'America's sports car' was born exactly 70 years ago, in 1953, as a two-door, two-seater premium sports car with or without a fixed roof but always with a front-engine and rear-wheel drive setup. Well, just like with many other things in life, one should never say never (again), so the eighth iteration of the iconic nameplate retconned everything into making the 'Vette a proper (European) mid-engine sports car killer.
Long-time dreams were fulfilled, and voila, the C8 Chevy Stingray became the very first mid-engine Corvette sports car produced by GM's subsidiary. With a 6.2-liter LT2 cross-plane V8 under the hood, the C8 Corvette Stingray became as agile as its Old Continent peers and showed a lot more prowess than its up-to 495-hp rating. But, of course, that was not enough for diehard fans. No worries, because 2023 is a benchmark year for Chevy Corvette as people can drop in front of the driveway not just 70th Anniversary Editions of the C8 Stingray but also of the all-new 2023 Corvette Z06.
The latter was not the only supercar-killing (super) hero, despite its world-record FPC credentials of 670 horsepower from a 5.5-liter flat-plane DOHC V8 engine with no forced induction. Instead, Chevy also wiped out the RWD-only trait by introducing the 655-hp E-Ray model, which is not only the first hybrid Corvette but also the inaugural eAWD model version. So, what could be next after Stingray, the FPC Z06, and the electrified E-Ray? Well, there is no need to ponder the answer because the rumor mill went berserk just a few days ago after the first sightings of the fully camouflaged 2025 Corvette ZR1 prototypes.
Even better, the Chevy engineers were not just driving the C8 Chevy Corvette ZR1 prototypes around Detroit – they also had some nice company with them. More precisely, several Corvette Z06s were also part of the spied convoy, and a Porsche 911 GT2 RS supercar accompanied all of them! According to rumors, the 2025 ZR1 could flaunt an LT7 V8, which is an evolution of the rev-happy LT6 DOHC 5.5-liter found in the Z06 but also rocking a couple of beastly turbos for some 850 hp to come out to play. Well, this is all fine and dandy, but how about the looks of the 2025 ZR1? No worries, as Peter Chilelli of Fast Pixels was again on point in presenting his vision.
Dressed in orange and black, the "attempt to see what's under the camouflage of the ZR1" resulted in a C8 that is closer than ever to the track-only C8.R. The pixel master even shared his thoughts on some of the highlights on the forum and pointed out the pass-through frunk, larger and elongated splitter, the new air intake divider, the fresh wheels, or the bespoke badging. In addition, other members of the online community also shared previous attempts at imagining the ZR1, and of course, we could not help but put them in the gallery for a quick comparison with the current Corvette Z06 model.
Long-time dreams were fulfilled, and voila, the C8 Chevy Stingray became the very first mid-engine Corvette sports car produced by GM's subsidiary. With a 6.2-liter LT2 cross-plane V8 under the hood, the C8 Corvette Stingray became as agile as its Old Continent peers and showed a lot more prowess than its up-to 495-hp rating. But, of course, that was not enough for diehard fans. No worries, because 2023 is a benchmark year for Chevy Corvette as people can drop in front of the driveway not just 70th Anniversary Editions of the C8 Stingray but also of the all-new 2023 Corvette Z06.
The latter was not the only supercar-killing (super) hero, despite its world-record FPC credentials of 670 horsepower from a 5.5-liter flat-plane DOHC V8 engine with no forced induction. Instead, Chevy also wiped out the RWD-only trait by introducing the 655-hp E-Ray model, which is not only the first hybrid Corvette but also the inaugural eAWD model version. So, what could be next after Stingray, the FPC Z06, and the electrified E-Ray? Well, there is no need to ponder the answer because the rumor mill went berserk just a few days ago after the first sightings of the fully camouflaged 2025 Corvette ZR1 prototypes.
Even better, the Chevy engineers were not just driving the C8 Chevy Corvette ZR1 prototypes around Detroit – they also had some nice company with them. More precisely, several Corvette Z06s were also part of the spied convoy, and a Porsche 911 GT2 RS supercar accompanied all of them! According to rumors, the 2025 ZR1 could flaunt an LT7 V8, which is an evolution of the rev-happy LT6 DOHC 5.5-liter found in the Z06 but also rocking a couple of beastly turbos for some 850 hp to come out to play. Well, this is all fine and dandy, but how about the looks of the 2025 ZR1? No worries, as Peter Chilelli of Fast Pixels was again on point in presenting his vision.
Dressed in orange and black, the "attempt to see what's under the camouflage of the ZR1" resulted in a C8 that is closer than ever to the track-only C8.R. The pixel master even shared his thoughts on some of the highlights on the forum and pointed out the pass-through frunk, larger and elongated splitter, the new air intake divider, the fresh wheels, or the bespoke badging. In addition, other members of the online community also shared previous attempts at imagining the ZR1, and of course, we could not help but put them in the gallery for a quick comparison with the current Corvette Z06 model.
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