The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Is Here Early, And It Has 740bhp

That’s an awfully big rear wing, isn’t it? We knew the C7 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was packing some serious aero thanks to earlier testing footage, but now we can see an entirely undisguised example for the first time…wow.

We’re actually seeing it a little early thanks to an appearance on the front cover of Car and Driver’s December issue, well ahead of the LA Auto Show debut we were expecting. According to Corvette Blogger, it’ll actually be shown first in the metal in Dubai this Saturday, but due to the reveal in the magazine, most of the key details are already out there.

Under that bulged bonnet is an ‘LT5’ 6.2-litre supercharged V8, best thought of as an evolution of the Z06’s LT4. It’s a pushrod engine that puts out 740bhp and 680lb ft of torque - 100bhp and 30lb ft more than the Z06, although it does have an extra 60kg or so of car to propel.

0-60mph happens in under three seconds, a standing quarter-mile is dealt with in under 11 seconds, and it’ll top out at 210mph. Perhaps a more important stat is its lap time at Virginia International Raceway - it lapped the track 2.5 seconds faster than a Z06.

There are several aero packages on offer, with the ‘ZTK’ kit seen on the magazine car generating 226kg of downforce (we’re not sure what speed that’s at yet, though). The rear wing is adjustable by 10 degrees.

It doesn’t have the trick Multimatic dampers used on the Camaro ZL1 1LE, and instead uses GM’s MagRide adaptive suspension system. Carbon ceramic brakes are fitted as standard.

More images and potentially more information should be with us at the weekend. We can’t wait to see more…