The 1,064 hp 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful car General Motors has ever built, but it probably won’t hold that title for long.
Video of a new Corvette model being tested at the Nürburgring suggests that it is close to being completed and is equipped with a big boost.
The camouflaged prototype was caught on camera by Car Spy Media and absolutely flying around the winding 13-mile-long track. Chevrolet hasn’t said anything about this car, but there are a few telltales on the car that may reveal what it has going on.
It has a sticker that identifies it as a hybrid vehicle, which is a requirement for testing at the track.
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A vertically oriented radiator that can be seen through the front vent is also similar to the one that the hybrid Corvette E-Ray uses to cool the electric motor that drives the front wheels. That motor is good for a 160 hp boost in the E-Ray, which combines with its rear-mounted 495 hp V8 for a combined 655 hp.
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It would appear, then, that the new car is a hybrid version of the ZR1, which means it could have all-wheel-drive and 1,224 hp even if they don’t increase the power of its turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 or the E-Ray’s electric motor.
Chevy says the rear-wheel-drive ZR1 can cover a quarter-mile in less than 10 seconds, while the E-Ray needs 10.5 seconds. With the extra power and traction provided by a front drive system, the new car could potentially blow that and the E-Ray’s 2.5-second 0-60 mph time out of the water.
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As for the name, GM recently filed to trademark Zora for use on automobiles. It’s a tip of the at to Zora Arkus-Duntov, who was the head of the Corvette program in the 1960s and 1970s and helped cement its performance legacy.
Don’t expect to see it coming to dealers as quickly as it is lapping the Nürburgring, however. The ZR1 doesn’t go on sale until next year, so it would likely be 2026 at the earliest before the Zora is launched.
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