Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 review: America's most powerful V8 production car ever Reviews 2025

Top Gear

3 days ago

Yep. Next question. I'm going to need more than that.
Let's start with the engine, because it's ridiculous isn't it? Where Aston Martin, McLaren and Ferrari have had to hybridise to cross the mythical barrier into four figure power outputs, Corvette just took the Z06's 5.5-litre V8 and bolted on a pair of turbos. And yee-hah there you have it – 670bhp becomes 1,064bhp. 200bhp extra from each turbo. Mad world.
Of course not. The engine is so different it now has an entirely new designation: LT7 rather than LT6. The compression ratio and rev limit has been dropped to aid torque, the conrod fractionally shorter to leave a bigger combustion chamber, the piston head dished out more. The crankshaft has been rebalanced, the heads are new, as is the entire intake and exhaust system.
It is – and this is the easy thing to overlook when talking about American V8s – a genuinely exotic powerplant. That also happens to sport a pair of the largest turbos ever fitted to a production car. The 76mm monoscroll blowers are better for peak power and Corvette claims to have largely eliminated lag with valve timing to keep engine cylinder pressure high when you lift off. Another claim to fame: the most powerful production V8 ever made in America. God bless the US of A. Give me more engine facts!
The turbos spin at up to 137,000rpm (that's 2,283 rotations per second ) and at that speed the turbo tips are travelling at 1.7 times the speed of sound. The impellers get to two-thirds of the belly temperature of the Space Shuttle on re-entry and so close are the turbos mounted to the exhaust manifold that the air going into them is still on fire.
Flat out, the engine demands two gallons of fuel per minute. Expressed another way it downs a pint every 4.5 seconds. Cheers.
Maximum torque stands at 828lb ft available anywhere from 3,000-6,000rpm. 0-60mph takes 2.3s, it's through the quarter mile in 9.6s at 150mph and maximum speed – as the boss himself discovered late last year – is 233mph.
Correct, all that power and fury is fed through a pair of 345-width Michelin PS4S rear tyres. Or Cup 2Rs, if you spec the ZTK package. This brings grip: both mechanical (the almost-slick, yet still somehow road legal, tyres, plus stiffer springs and bespoke magnetic ride control) and aerodynamic (the whacking great rear wing is balanced with extra aero work at the front).
Actual maximum downforce isn't particularly impressive given how massive that rear wing is – just 444kg at 186mph. A GT3 RS produces close to double that number. Look underneath, there's not much of a rear diffuser to pull the back end down.
You have to choose your weapon. Want a fast lap and the most fearsome acceleration? Have the ZTK package. Want the 233mph max? You'll need the regular car without the draggy tail. You can also choose between hard top and convertible. The latter adds 45kg, but the former still has a lift-out roof panel. Every ZR1 can be open air, it's just a question of whether you're up for a bit of manual labour.
You'd have thought so, but the all-aluminium ZR1 is commendably stiff. Corvette positions the ZR1 as being a little softer than the naturally aspirated Z06, less snatchy at the limit which, let's face it, is just as well when you've got this much power on tap.