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″
ZOMBIE CAR SALES: DODGE CHALLENGER V CHEVROLET CAMARO — WHO WINS?
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.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE AMERICAN CARS AND RACING NEWSLETTER
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.
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.
