GM's Chevrolet brand kicked off the video teaser campaign for the new Corvette ZR1 in April 2024. Two months later, the latest installment reveals that General Motors will debut its most powerful combustion-engined vehicle yet on July 25.
That makes the C8-generation ZR1 a 2025 model, with 2025 model year production to start on September 9. Similar to every other eighth-gen Corvette, this corner-carving thriller will be assembled in Bowling Green. The Kentucky-based plant opened in June 1981. Prior to Bowling Green, the Chevrolet Corvette was assembled in St. Louis, Missouri. Way further back, as in during the second half of 1953, the first 300 units of the C1 were assembled in Flint, Michigan plant.
"The Reveal Is Coming" is how Chevrolet named the latest video teaser, which obviously includes engine and upshift sounds. The shifting is done by a DCT derived from the eight-speed unit of the Z06. Both are supplied by Tremec. In GM vernacular, they're dubbed M1M and M1K. The regular production order codes for the E-Ray and Stingray transaxles are listed as MLH and M1L.
In regard to the V8 engine sound, it's not clear whether or not General Motors yanked out the flat-plane crankshaft of the Z06 in favor of a cross-plane crank. The latter makes plenty of sense in a twin-turbo application, especially if you remember that snails take away from the aural pleasure.
Codenamed LT7 as opposed to LT6 for the naturally aspirated 5.5-liter engine of the Z06, the ZR1's powerplant is – allegedly – equipped with Active Fuel Management. Detroit's favorite son has no flat-plane crank engine with AFM to speak of, which adds fuel to the cross-plane hypothesis.
Photo: Chevrolet on YouTube
GM's fuel-saving technology is present in the LT2 of the Stingray and E-Ray. The 6.2-liter small block becomes a V4 when Active Fuel Management kicks in, therefore improving fuel economy. AFM is gradually being replaced by DFM, with Dynamic Fuel Management being a bit more complex.
How come? As it happens, a DFM-equipped powerplant can operate in one-cylinder mode. Think of the automaker's truck-specific V8 engines, namely the 5.3- and 6.2-liter small blocks of the Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. The LT4 version of the 6.2-liter small block packs up to 682 horsepower in the Silverado 1500-based Cadillac Escalade-V and up to 659 pound-feet (893 Nm) in the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.
However, do you remember the LT5 of the C7-gen ZR1? That baby is way punchier due to dual injection. LT5 is the only gen-five small block to feature both direct and port fuel injection. Combined with the 2.6-liter Eaton TVS blower, it belts out a staggering 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet (969 Nm).
It's only natural to assume that GM's next ZR1 makes 800 ponies, with some voices claiming even more than 800 mechanical horses. The bigger question mark is whether the ridiculous dealer markups will return for this generation of the Corvette ZR1 as well.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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