Chevrolet Corvette C8’s ZR1 Variant Will Be a 900-HP Hybrid With AWD: Report
GM is said to be dipping into hypercar technology to craft the top-shelf mid-engined ‘Vette.
The 755-horsepower Chevy Corvette C7 ZR1 pretty much represented the apex of what an unassisted V8 could do and was always going to be a hard act to follow. For its upcoming mid-engined C8 version, Chevy is said to introduce an electrified hybrid powertrain to boost America's sports car to even higher performance levels, if a new report is to be believed.
According to an anonymous "senior official at GM" speaking exclusively to Motor Trend, the next ZR1 will get a hybrid-assisted, twin-turbo V8 making a total of 900 hp, not too far off from double the regular Stingray's 495 SAE-certified ponies. The publication claims that the V8 will be of the flat-plane-crank variety also present in a future Z06 and have its torque gaps filled by electric motors, just like the LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyder. While all three of those seven-figure hypercars use electricity to produce even more speed, expect the C8 ZR1 to be more in line with the Porsche since Motor Trend's intel also alleges that the top-shelf 'Vette will be all-wheel drive—this would make it the first Corvette ever to send power to all four wheels.
Motor Trend's source also goes on to quash rumors that the Z06, ZR1, and C8.R's V8 would be related to Cadillac's 4.2-liter twin-turbo Blackwing engine found in the short-lived, 550-hp CT6-V sedan. Thanks to GM granting Chevy and Cadillac separate budgets to develop their own V8s a number of years ago, the Blackwing will reportedly remain a Cadillac-only affair.
Other technical details on the mid-engined ZR1 remain a mystery but MT predicts the V8 to be somewhere between 4.2 and 5.5 liters. How much weight all those batteries and electric motors add will also be a figure to watch considering the regular C8 already weighs a hefty 200 pounds more than the equivalent C7.
We've reached out to Chevrolet for comment and will update this story when we hear back.