The next pure petrol-powered member of the mid-engined Corvette family is set to be a 600kW-plus twin-turbocharged V8 track car – but will it be built in right-hand drive for Australia?
An even hotter version of the latest Chevrolet Corvette supercar – the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 – has been spied ahead of its expected launch towards the middle of the decade.
Due in 2024 or 2025, according to US reports, the new ZR1 would be the fourth variant in the latest C8 Corvette range, after the standard Stingray, track-oriented Z06 and hybrid E-Ray.
Reports indicate it may become the most powerful production Corvette ever built when it launches, with more than 630kW.
It will also be the first Chevrolet factory-built Corvette with turbochargers, after 15 years of supercharged power for the flagship variants.
It is unclear if it will be offered in Australia. All previous C8 Corvette variants have been produced in right-hand drive, but it is no certainty for the ZR1 and its different engine configuration.
Spy photos captured in the US overnight point to an even more aggressive appearance than the already-hardcore Z06 – though most new design features are obscured by the thick black camouflage.
The front splitter may be slightly longer than the Z06 – with its optional Z07 performance package – while the alloy wheel design hiding under the covers appears to be different to the Z06.
The rear spoiler is shared with the Corvette Z06 (with the Z07 pack), however this prototype may be just a test ‘mule’, using Z06 bodywork to disguise the new engine and chassis – and tip photographers off the scent.
Photographed testing alongside the Corvette ZR1 was a pair of Corvette Z06s, and a track-focused, twin-turbo Porsche 911 GT2 RS sports car.
The camouflage may be needed to disguise intercoolers and additional cooling for the ZR1’s engine, which reports say will be a twin-turbocharged version of the 5.5-litre non-turbo V8 in the Corvette Z06.
Power is expected to hit 850 horsepower – or more than 630kW – up from 500kW (670hp) in the US-market ‘C8’ Corvette Z06s, and 563kW (755hp) in the previous-generation, front-engined ‘C7’ Corvette ZR1.
US website Muscle Cars and Trucks – which has a strong track record for reporting insider information from General Motors – reports the engine could make up to 900 horsepower (671kW), and will swap the Z06’s flat-plane crank for a more conventional cross-plane crank for “better balancing and durability”.
That power is expected to remain sent exclusively to the rear wheels.
According to the publication, styling differences between ZR1 and Z06 will include an “air extractor in the front of the car in place of a storage area” akin to the Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car, larger front air intakes, and a longer front splitter.
US reports claim the ZR1 will be followed by an even more powerful C8 Corvette, with twin-turbo V8 hybrid power and all-wheel drive, known as the Zora – due after 2025.
Borrowing its name from early Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov – dubbed the “Father of the Corvette”, and an early proponent of a mid-engined Corvette – the Corvette Zora is set to combine the ZR1’s twin-turbo V8 with the E-Ray’s hybrid technology technology.
This is set to deliver a power output in excess of 1000 horsepower (746kW), as the most extreme and most powerful Corvette ever produced.
An electric version of the Corvette two-door is not expected in this generation. Chevrolet is instead reportedly planning a dedicated electric performance sedan wearing the Corvette, as a rival for the Porsche Taycan.
More details of the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 are due closer to its US launch in 2024 or 2025.
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