Chevrolet throws down hypercar gauntlet with ZR1X
Staggering new V8-powered Corvette gets AWD and 1,250hp to hit 60mph in less than 2 seconds...
Chevrolet can always be relied on to raise the bar when it comes to sheer performance. Only now it’s lifted the bar to a level Armand Duplantis would struggle to clear: this is the ZR1X, a new hybrid V8 supercar with more power than a Ferrari F80. It’s also a Corvette.
1,250hp is the kind of power figure associated with dedicated drag machines, not series production sports cars. But that’s what the Corvette ZR1X is capable of, thanks to the ludicrously potent combination of the ZR1’s LT7 V8 - two turbos, flat plane crank, dry sump, 1,000-plus horsepower - with the E-Ray’s electrified front axle. Which has even more power than in the standard hybrid; despite the same 1.9kWh battery capacity, a higher operating voltage (ostensibly for lapping stamina), it’s now 26hp and 20lb ft stronger, at 186hp and 145lb ft. The ZR1X remains four-wheel drive up to 160mph…
It won’t take long to get there, of course. Chevy reckons 0-60mph in less than two seconds and the quarter mile in less than nine, by which time the Corvette will almost be going fast enough for that front axle to decouple - it says trap speed will be over 150. In the quarter mile! Chevrolet quotes 828lb ft from the V8, so even if the engine and motor outputs can’t be combined the ZR1X is never going to be short of pulling power.
The 5.5 is employed unchanged from the ZR1, so it still boasts the pair of 76mm blowers, the ‘maniturbo’ exhaust design - combining turbo and manifold design to get as close to the valves as possible - and the dynamic anti-lag to maintain boost. Just now with electric horsepower on top. So it’s going to be ballistic. That 1,250hp claim will be good ol’ boy imperial as well, so 1,267hp metric. Or more than twice the power of a Maserati MC20, for crying out loud.
All that muscle reaches the road through the familiar eight-speed dual-clutch, though interesting for the ZR1X - as per the E-Ray - is that there’s no physical connection between the power sources. They deal with one axle each. The battery is replenished by regen, and the battery pack was always designed with rapid depletion and charging in mind. Indeed there’s a 24-hour Corvette circuit durability test that the battery pack had to pass to make it into the ZR1X. Some track day that must have been.
The all-wheel-drive system has had some changes from E-Ray to this car; they’re described as ‘solutions specifically for the LT7’s character and capability’, with improvements said to be evident on road and track. We’re assuming a greater rear bias given the huge uplift in V8 power against the standard 6.2, which could be fun. This being a modern Chevy, too, there are a host of new tech features for drivers to take full advantage of the ZR1X’s potential. So there’s a Push-to-Pass setting for maximum power - imagine this steaming past at full tilt in your mere McLaren - Qualifying mode for a lap time and Endurance to keep consistent eAWD performance for a full tank of fuel. So probably like six laps.
A driver assistance feature called PTM Pro is new for all 2026 Corvettes, though was apparently engineered with the ZR1X in mind. It’s everything off, basically, in terms of traction and stability, but keeps Launch Control possible as well as Regen Brake Torque Vectoring and Front Axle Pre Control, the latter nibbling front brakes to help traction. Those Michelins are going to need all the help they can get.
Speaking of which, the ZR1X will be available with a performance pack like the pure combustion ZR1. The ZTK kit replaces the standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber with Cup 2Rs, adds a carbon aerokit capable of more than half a tonne of downforce and ups the spring rate. The aero kit is an extra on the ZR1X without the additional ZTK package bits. All of them, though, get monster Alcon brakes, with 10-piston front calipers and 420mm ceramic discs at each corner (!). Otherwise known as the J59 braking package, it’s usually an option on the ZR1. Probably sensible to include it now. Apparently the brakes can deliver 1.9g of deceleration.
It all sounds as utterly bonkers as we’ve come to expect from this ‘no-compromise’ C8 platform. But the ZR1X is still a Corvette at heart, so there’s still going to be a convertible option for the 1,267hp one. And it gets the smart new interior refresh. ‘It’s an all-day comfortable tourer, a straight-line rocket, and a racetrack weapon, all in one’, reckons Chevrolet. Given their current form, we’ve no reason to doubt that claim one little bit. Expect the ZR1X to enter production later in 2025, with pricing and availability to follow closer to the time. That has more relevance to us than usual, too, as the first RHD Z06s are now making their way here. Y’know, the plain old 8,500rpm, 670hp one. So perhaps these could make it as well…
Still ugly, (I prefer the C7) but an impressive package. The chance of actually buying one at list price in the US will be close to zero though as most dealers will have limited supply and can therefore price it accordingly.
I hope the few people that manage to get one actually get a chance to drive it!
918, P1, peak hypercar for me
I personally don't rate the car that much but I am envious of the american market, specifically american brands, they release all sorts of cars, hell cats, scat packs, 1200 bhp supercars at the fraction of what a Ferrari would cost.
What do we have, R-Line Jags and 300 grand Astons
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