Headed into the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 reveal, we knew it would be powerful. After all, the Corvette Z06 already made 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque from a 5.5-liter, naturally aspirated V8, and the rumor was, the ZR1 would get a set of turbos. So a power figure in the 800 to 900-hp range would have made sense. Instead, Chevrolet announced the Corvette ZR1 actually makes 1,064 hp and 828 lb-ft of torque from its 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8.
That’s a whole lot of power for one engine to make without the assistance of electric motors. That’s more power than the original Bugatti Veyron. It’s also more power than Bugatti’s new V16 makes in the new Tourbillon. Heck, the Corvette ZR1’s engine beats 1,001 hp you get from the Lamborghini Revuelto’s gas-electric hybrid powertrain. Oh, and let’s not forget the ZR1 also makes more power than the Dodge Challenger Demon 170 while running on E85. The Corvette, on the other hand, makes all 1,064 hp on good, old-fashioned 93 octane.
Clearly, Chevrolet has something special on its hands. The Corvette has always been an incredible performance bargain capable of taking on more than a few cars that cost significantly more money, but still. We’re talking about a Corvette with an engine that makes more than 1,000 hp, and it’s not even a hybrid. There is, of course, plenty of speculation that Chevrolet will eventually pair the ZR1’s engine with the hybrid system from the Corvette E-Ray to create a super-ZR1 potentially called the Zora, but for now, let’s just marvel at the ZR1 we have.
And who better to nerd out on all the little things that went into building such a powerful engine than our friend Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained? Grab a cup of coffee, kick back and spend the next 15 minutes learning way more than you ever wanted to know about the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1’s ridiculous engine.
