1,064 horsepower. 215 miles per hour. 1,200 pounds of downforce. The new Corvette ZR1 is a beast.

Forget the intro: The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful V-8 American production car ever. It has a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 with 1,064 horsepower, 828 pound-feet of torque, and an 8,000-RPM redline. It'll do over 215 miles per hour and conquer a quarter mile in less than ten seconds. And when equipped with the ZTK package, it has over 1,200 pounds of downforce.

The new ZR1 is, in other words, a monster. Typically the most powerful car in the 'Vette lineup, it's no surprise this ZR1 is a heavy-hitter. But more than 1,000 hp is a first for the Corvette. The last ZR1 had 755 hp—a mere 105 more than the next-most-powerful Corvette of the same generation—and the current Z06 has a measly 670 hp by comparison.

The ZR1's engine is closely related to the Z06's LT6. Known as the LT7, it shares a block casting and other minor bits with the six. Key components are different, though. The block itself is uniquely machined, new forged pistons contribute to a much lower compression ratio (9.8:1 as compared to the LT6's 12.5:1), as do the all-new heads, and a different crankshaft is added.

The twin ball-bearing turbochargers are mirror images of each other, featuring single-scroll volutes on the intake side and 76-millimeter compressor wheels. Electronic wastegates enable careful tuning of their behavior, particularly off-throttle to prevent turbo lag. The turbines are also made from a special material called "MAR," which is better than Inconel apparently. News to me.

This newfound turbo power is sent through a strengthened and retuned version of the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission found in all other C8 Corvettes. Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter explains exactly what makes this powertrain so special:

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