fbpx
Cars > Peek

Chevrolet unleashes a 1,000hp monster in new Corvette ZR1

Hypercars, beware the American beast

The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 has so much going for it. PHOTO FROM CHEVROLET

There was a time when Chevrolet Corvettes were looked at as rather leisurely sports cars. With that we mean that traditional—mostly European—supercar brands were laughing at the Vette and disregarding it as a slow cruiser that doesn’t do corners and is usually driven by cowboy boot-wearing Americans in their sixties.

Chances are those companies aren’t laughing anymore. Ever since the eighth generation was unveiled and Chevy turned its halo car into a proper mid-engined driving machine have perceptions changed—and they’ll have to change again now, with the unveiling of the insanely powerful new Corvette ZR1.

It hits 1,064hp without any form of electrification. PHOTOS FROM CHEVROLET

Until a few years ago, having over 1,000hp at your disposal was the privilege of Bugatti drivers or those rich enough to have their cars boosted into four figures by various tuning houses. Now, Chevrolet puts petrol-powered insanity within reach of a lot more drivers.

Powered by a 5.5-liter LT7 twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank V8 that churns out 1,064hp and 1,122Nm of torque, the brand-new Corvette ZR1 is ready to headbutt the horizon and make drivers of more expensive Italian hypercars cry.

Chevy doesn’t even know the full specs of this monster yet, but estimates that it can do the quarter mile in under 10 seconds and will hit over 340km/h flat-out. To achieve this, engineers took the LT6 architecture and changed it drastically, including fitting twin turbos for a production Vette for the first time ever.

Technically, it’s still the same block as in tamer models, but practically there’s a whole new beast living under that hood.

Are we looking at a GT3 race car or a hypercar slayer? PHOTOS FROM CHEVROLET

This is a beast that not only goes fast but also sticks to the road like superglue-using climate activists.

It’s already a track weapon in standard configuration, but add the optional ZTK performance package with carbon aero and you get a high-downforce rear wing, front dive planes, and a tall hood Gurney lip among other things. Just the aero mods alone increase downforce by over 540kg at top speed.

An eight-speed dual-clutch box sends all the power to the rear wheels that won’t have any bother accelerating the 1,665kg (dry weight) light car to warp speed.

To slow this American-made rocket down again, a new high-performance carbon-ceramic brake setup has been fitted as well. Massive 400mm rotors at the front and 390mm ones at the back help to keep velocity in check and enable the ZR1 to go from 130km/h to 320km/h and back to 130km/h in just 24.5 seconds.

The ZR1 is incomplete without this additional ZTK performance package. PHOTOS FROM CHEVROLET

As a nod to the past, the latest Supervette also comes with a split rear window, a feature not seen on a production Corvette since the C2.

Although calling it a window is pushing it a bit, the two tiny glass panes are separated by a carbon-fiber spine that acts as an extra heat extraction device for the engine.

Still, everyone likes a bit of nostalgia, and it’s another thing to mention when the proud owner parks up at the next cars-and-coffee. A carbon-fiber roof has been fitted to reduce weight and the center of gravity, and optional carbon-fiber wheels are available as well.

You can enjoy your new Vette with or without a roof. PHOTOS FROM CHEVROLET

Step inside and you’ll be greeted by ZR1 badging on an interior plaque, the sill plates, and the steering wheel, so there’s positively no risk of forgetting what you are driving.

A boost gauge joins the instrument cluster, and three new exterior colors—Competition Yellow, Hysteria Purple, and Sebring Orange—are also available to choose from.

Chevy hasn’t revealed the price of the new ZR1 yet, but if we had to guess, we’d say it would probably be sold below $200,000 (P11,692,000). That’s still a lot of dosh, but when you compare it to cars like the Veyron, it’s almost a bargain.



Frank Schuengel

Frank is a German e-commerce executive who loves his wife, a Filipina, so much he decided to base himself in Manila. He has interesting thoughts on Philippine motoring. He writes the aptly named ‘Frankly’ column.



Comments