2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 teased with twin-turbo V8 soundtrack

UPDATED 21/06/2024 2:15pm: General Motors has locked in a July 25 reveal date for the upcoming 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and simultaneously released yet another short-blast teaser previewing its new flagship supercar via the Chevrolet YouTube channel.

As per all the other teasers thus far, the six-second clip champions the ZR1’s twin-turbo V8 soundtrack before announcing its reveal date, with the video’s description reading: “07.25.24. The Corvette ZR1 reveal is coming”.

It will likely be quite some time before the American speed machine arrives on Aussie soil, but odds are the hard-core version of Chevrolet’s first global Corvette will become available Down Under in limited numbers at some point, following the local introduction of the naturally-aspirated Corvette Z06 and the electrified Corvette E-Ray later this year.

Pricing for the latter is yet to be announced, but the Z06 will be priced from $336,000 plus on-road costs, suggesting the ballistic ZR1 will cost close to half a million dollars, depending on how much extra performance it offers.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 04/06/2024 12:15pm: General Motors has released another spicy teaser for its upcoming 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, all but confirming the nature of its inevitably vicious powertrain ahead of its world debut within the next three months.

The teaser takes the form of a 22-second YouTube video that gives us a less-than-subtle soundbite of what’s expected to be a twin-turbo 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8, as well as a quick glance of the upcoming supercar’s rear-end.

It’s immediately apparent this is the same power unit as seen in the already intense Corvette Z06, though those with an ear for detail may detect a slightly more muted tone to the exhaust and the signature whistle of at least one turbo helping to deliver maximum boost.

With the Z06 already being good for output of 500kW/623Nm overseas, the rabid new ZR1 could pack upwards of 635kW of power and a huge 1100Nm of torque, given how hard the anticipated pair of turbochargers are blowing in the soundbite.

The Z06 stops the 0-100km/h clock in a claimed 2.6 seconds and, since the ZR1 will almost certainly retain the Corvette’s traditional rear-drive layout, the new flagship may not improve much on this time.

Roll-on and in-gear performance will be another story, however, and this is where the mid-engined ZR1 could claim the scalps of myriad European exotica, potentially also giving it the edge around the racetrack.

It’s unclear at this stage whether the force-fed V8 will be supported by some sort of hybrid system, but the odds are against it given Chevrolet will have the upcoming E-Ray to cater to the electrified supercar market – not to mention the long-rumoured Corvette Zora, which will reportedly develop upwards of 746kW by combing the ZR1 engine with multiple electric motors.

The new ZR1 will make its global debut within the next few months since GM has said for a while now that its “reveal is coming this summer” – a season that has just started in the northern hemisphere.

We don’t yet know yet if the ZR1 will be produced in right-hand drive configuration, but it’s almost certain the fastest version of the first global Corvette will follow in the footsteps of the Stingray, E-Ray and Z06 in being available in all major markets including Australia.

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