The 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Is Alien

By Gary Gastelu |

Apr 26, 2025

The mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is a technological tour de force.

The upcoming Super-Vette is powered by a twin-turbocharged, flat-plane crank 5.5-liter V8 rated at 1,064 hp, making it the most powerful production car ever built by a volume American automaker.

GM President Mark Reuss drove it to a 233 mph top speed to set another record for the class and it’s been clocked in the quarter-mile at 9.6 seconds. It has also set the fastest lap time on five American road courses … so far.

The car is such a leap from anything GM has made before it, you almost wonder if it used secret alien technology to create it. It didn’t, but for 2026 you can get a Corvette ZR1 that looks like it’s from outer space.

Chevrolet has introduced a Roswell Green Metallic paint color that suits the car’s jagged, vented and winged design perfectly. It’s the same color as the blood you usually see spurting from extraterrestrials that are being autopsied or eliminated by the heroine in sci-fi films and should look bonkers blasting down a track. If it’s too much for you, there’s also a new Blade Silver Metallic color that gives it fighter jet vibes.

The Corvete ZR1 has a starting price of $174,995, which is a lot for a Corvette, but not for a car with its kind of performance. You’ll have to spend more than a million dollars to get something faster and the soon to be released Ford Mustang GTD that’s not nearly as powerful or fast starts at $325,000.

The Mustang GTD does hold the bragging rights to the fastest lap around the Nürburgring by a car from an American brand, however, and will likely announce an even faster time soon. The Corvette ZR1 has been to the track many times, but Chevrolet has yet to release an official lap time.