New Corvette ZR1 Builds Off a Legacy of Excellence and Extremes

The performance of the C4 ZR-1 was exceptional for the time and was still impressive at the end of its 1990-1995 run. “Nothing this good can come out of a large American corporation without causing some shock waves,” marveled our sister publication Car and Driver in 1989. This ZR-1 was strong enough to be a legend in its own right, but it turns out this was only the beginning.

The 2009 C6 ZR1.

After another stretch where the ZR1 name lay dormant, Chevy brought it back (this time without the hyphen) as a special variant of the C6, produced from 2009 to 2013. Bearing the internal code name “Blue Devil,” it was the most powerful car that GM had produced at 638 hp. At a $105,000 base price, it was also the most expensive Corvette ever, as well as the first to hit over 200 mph. The Blue Devil showcased its supercharged LS9 engine via a transparent polycarbonate panel in the carbon-fiber hood. At the time, it redefined expectations of performance in a way that would reverberate through the supercar world for years—long enough that it earned the title of “still the coolest Corvette you can buy” from R&T in 2020.

The 2019 C7 ZR1.

When the ZR1 returned on the C7 in 2018, R&T editor-at-large Matt Farah announced, “I knew it was going to be scary…What I did not understand was the extent to which I’d be right, and how the 2019 Corvette ZR1 would completely warp my senses of what a fast car feels like.” Once again supercharged, the new LT5 V-8 was capable of 755 hp and 715 lb-ft of torque. Of course, complications arise as power increases, primarily in the form of cooling needs. These issues are addressed in this ZR1 with 13 heat exchangers to manage all forms of heat along with distinctive aerodynamic features to promote cooling. The C7 ZR1’s stats are even more impressive considering GM’s anti-risk bean-counter mentality that makes it difficult to pitch faster and faster Corvettes, according to Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, but we’re delighted it made it through. But if the C7 ZR1 was scary, the C8 ZR1 promises to be absolutely terrifying.

The key terms of discussions of each installment of the ZR1 have consistently been first, fast, and extreme. The C8 ZR1 is no different. First: ZR1 to crack 1000 horsepower (1064 hp at 7000 rpm, to be specific), handily beating the C7 ZR1’s formerly held record of 755 hp. Fast: How’s “comfortably over 215”, according to Chevy, or a 9.7-second quarter-mile at 150 mph? Extreme: Did you see the giant hood extractor and huge rear wing?

The numbers don’t get any less crazy the further down the list you go: 828 lb-ft of torque at 6000 rpm, exhaust temps that can hit 1900 F, and 37 pounds of thrust generated just from the exhaust gases. The carbon fiber aero package, capable of generating over 1200 pounds of downforce, sets the ZR1 up for superb handling and enables those unthinkable top speeds.

Chevy’s brought back the C4 ZR1’s “King of the Hill” messaging for the C8 ZR1, and for good reason. Remember the C4 ZR-1’s exclusive LT5 engine? Chevrolet has given the ZR1 another soon-to-be legendary engine in the LT7, a twin-turbocharged DOHC V-8 that gives the C8 ZR1 the most power ever seen in a factory Corvette. The drive for engine innovation seen here has been a requirement for the ZR1 plaque since 1990. Big tires, another staple of the ZR1 legacy, continue: the C8 ZR1’s wheels are 20 inch in the front and 21 inch in the rear.

Corvette historians will instantly recognize the revival of the split window, brought back from the 1963 C2 Corvette. “We didn’t approach this decision lightly,” said Chevy executive design director Phil Zak. “Not only does this element provide function, but we were able to integrate passionate design into the form and do it in a way that paid homage to Corvette’s history. ZR1 felt like the right time to bring the split-window back.”

The new ZR1 continues the plaque’s legacy of adding more speed, power, and performance each generation, but it’s not stuck in the past. It’s got cutting-edge tech that promises to push it over any remaining barriers of hypercar status, plus the impeccable bones of the name that’s graced the most extreme editions of the Corvette for decades. Just the engine note is enough to strike fear into the hearts of competitors and glee into the hearts of enthusiasts. Ours are certainly fluttering.

Amelia Nonemacher’s interest in cars began over childhood road trips across the American Southwest in a trusty Toyota Sienna minivan and fully developed once she discovered she could brag about driving manual to her unlicensed college friends. A native Austinite, she spends her time back home driving a 2013 Subaru BRZ.