With the current generation of Corvette, General Motors (GM) have turned up their muscle car with each variant, and the ZR1 variant is no exception. How have they done this? Well the headline for the ZR1 is it’s powered by the most powerful V8 ever produced in America for a road car. To give some context, the 5.5 litre twin-turbo V8 in the ZR1 produces more power than the 8.0 litre quad-turbo W16 that was found in the middle of the Bugatti Veyron. 

Let’s take a dive into the beating heart of the ZR1: the 5.5 litre flat-plane crank twin-turbo V8. The architecture of the engine is the same that’s found in the naturally aspirated Z06.

While turbocharged Corvettes are nothing new, with GM and the aftermarket tuners having experimented with and offered these for years now, this is the first all GM Corvette to be turbocharged; the 2025 ZR1 gains two which are integrated with the exhaust manifold. The result of this is a reduced volume and distance between the exhaust valve and turbine wheel, resulting in quicker response.

Additional, unique changes made to the V8 for the ZR1 include a new intake system tuned for its two turbochargers, intelligent anti-lag calibration which adapts to your driving style, a larger CNC machined combustion chamber, exhaust and intake ports. A change that doesn’t add any performance but does stay in line with past ZR1 models is the Edge blue engine cover. All the changes result in the powerplant being assigned the LT7 code. 

The engine produces 1,064 bhp and 828 lb ft (1,123 Nm) of torque. The result is a top speed of over 215 mph, according to GM estimations. There is no 0-60 mph time released as of yet, but there is an estimated quarter-mile time of less than 10 seconds. 

With the increase in power and torque, the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission has also undergone extensive work to handle the performance. Changes have been made to the inner and outer input shafts, an increased gear capacity with strength increased through shot peening for all gears, refinements to the final drive and increased control valves for the higher required clutch clamp load.

1,064 bhp is a lot of power to transfer to the asphalt. To help the ZR1 get this power down, there has been extensive aerodynamic work throughout the car, seeing a revised bonnet that allows air to flow through it, carbon fibre air ducts to help cool the rear brakes and air ducts at the top of the rear hatch which to help cool the turbo compressor inlets. However, if these changes aren’t quite hardcore enough for you, there’s an option called the ZTK Performance Package. According to Chevrolet themselves the ZTK package “unlocks a true track weapon.”