JUST WHEN THE STARDUST HAD FINALLY BEGUN TO SETTLE AFTER THE 2020 LAUNCH OF THE EIGHTH-GEN CORVETTE, CHEVY HITS THE GAS ON THE 2025 C8 ZR1, THE FASTEST AND MOST FEROCIOUS STREET WARRIOR TO EVER DON THE HALLOWED ‘VETTE NAME

BY AMANDA McCOY

THE MOST POWERFUL CORVETTE to ever hit the streets is fed by GM’s LT7, a twin-turbo 5.5L V-8 that churns out 1,064 horses and 828 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s the first factory turbocharged powerplant in Corvette’s history.

AN OPTIONAL ZTK PERFORMANCE PACKAGE satiates even hungrier appetites with a high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood Gurney lip all forged from woven carbon fiber – plus stiffer springs and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires.

Some vehicles need no introduction. For 70-plus years, the Chevrolet Corvette has been a crest of Americana, for many the holy grail of Michigan-born machinery. In its inaugural year, just 300 examples were assembled by hand in Flint, all finished in Polo White with crisp red interiors. There were indeed growing pains along the ‘Vette’s rise to becoming America’s sports car (General Motors only sold 183 vehicles that first year, perhaps because the 150-horsepower inline-six wasn’t enough to stir the sports car crowd), but after a string of upgrades throughout the ‘50s, the C2 a.k.a. the venerable Sting Ray debuted for model-year 1963 and stole the show. This was also the first year or the Z06 performance package, dreamed up by engineer and racing enthusiast Zora Arkus-Duntov, which added a suite of track-ready goodies like beefier brakes, a mean suspension, and a larger fuel tank. It was an icon, a beast, forever stamped in the fabric of American car culture.

Flash forward six decades, and the sacred speedster is now in its 8th generation, last overhauled in 2020 when it sent shockwaves throughout the realm for its switch to a mid-engine layout, a first in ‘Vette history. But why are we devoting these pages to a five-year-old body style? Well, this year marks the return of the ZR1, the performance variant that first debuted in 1970 and resurfaced several times over the generations. If the Corvette is the patriarch of the American sports car sphere, the ZR1 is its seditious brother, an insatiable, rule-obliterating, 1,064-horsepower hyper-beast that rocket launches from standstill to 60 in 2.3 seconds. Some might call it gratuitous; we call it gold.

The ZR1 is stacked with supercar smarts, including a standard adaptive suspension, beefy carbon-ceramic brakes (the largest in ‘Vette history), 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels wrapped around Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, and clever cooling tech that keeps the brakes and turbocharger at optimal temps. Modern innovations are sprinkled with odes to legends of yore, including the iconic split-window design made famous by the ‘63 Sting Ray, which laid the groundwork all those years ago for the mind-melting, super-machine of today. Starting at $174,995.

EARLY ON, the Corvette’s engineers knew a track star was born. “We went into the ZR1 program with lofty goals, but even our first development tests on-track showed the teams were already exceeding them,” said Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer, Corvette. “As we worked to develop this car, we continued to leap past expectations, and we knew we had a special Corvette on our hands.”

FOR EXTRA BRAGGADOCIO, the flat-top and bottom steering wheel bears ZR1 badging. It’s heated, of course, and there’s a plush sueded microfiber finish option on the top trim.

EXTERIOR STYLE OPTIONS include a palette of fresh new paints like Competition Yellow (seen here), Hysteria Purple, and Sebring Orange, plus optional full-body racing stripes, brake caliper colors, and seat belt colors.

THE UPGRADED 3LZ TRIM adds sleek interior treatments like heated and ventilated nappa leather seats, a 14-speaker Bose sound system, and a custom leather-wrapped instrument panel.

Quality Chevrolet Buick GMC of Englewood

386 Grand Avenue, Englewood 201.399.4280 / qualitychevybuickgmc.com