The ‘Unthinkable’ Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Will Be Revealed This Summer

zr1
(Chevrolet)
zr1
(Chevrolet)

Chevrolet has confirmed that the first eighth generation Corvette ZR1 will make its debut this summer.

The automaker has released a teaser video on social media announcing the news.

The accompanying media release simply says:

“The unthinkable is on the horizon: Corvette ZR1″

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The video includes some engine-revving sounds that don’t give away too much detail, but the car is rumored to be powered by a turbocharged V8 with either 6.2-liters or 5.5-liters of displacement and an output of more than 800 hp. The most powerful factory Corvette to date was the seventh generation ZR1, which had a 755 hp supercharged V8. The top Corvette on sale today is the Z06, which uses a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft that’s rated at 670 hp, while the all-wheel-drive hybrid E-Ray has a combined output of 655 hp.

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While the Z06 is the closest there is to a street legal version of the Z06 GT3.R that competes in the IMSA and WEC sports car racing series right now, Ford is about to unleash its own GT3-derived production car in the form of the Mustang GTD, which will have a supercharged V8 rated at more than 800 hp, so Chevrolet might be looking to outgun its track rival on the road.

A shadowy rendering of the new ZR1 also appears in the clip, showing that it has prominent air intakes, a front splitter with pronounced end plates and a large rear wing.

zr1 2
(Chevrolet)

The caption for the video says “no Corvette has ever moved quite like this,” suggesting it will be beyond any version of the sports car before it.