Update: We’ve spotted another Corvette ZR1 development prototype in Germany, and it’s still pushing the limits after a minor hiccup last week. According to our photographer on the scene, during a high-speed run at the Nürburgring, one of the big-wing testers had a tire blowout scare. Luckily, the Corvette ZR1 emerged from the incident with nothing more than a cooling system dent and managed to steer clear of a crash.
The naturally-aspirated Z06 is the perfect Corvette for buyers who wish Ferrari still made the late, great 458. But with only 670 hp (679 PS) it’s nowhere near as powerful as the supercars Ferrari is making today. Chevy’s answer to that is the new ZR1, and our spy photographers have just spied it being put through its paces at the Nurburgring.
It’s a few months since we last posted spy shots of the Corvette ZR1, and back then it was still wearing heavy black disguise panels and disc wheel covers that prevented us from seeing much beyond the large rear wing. But these latest images show two cars dressed only in a camouflage wrap and give us a clear look at what to expect when it hits the road next year.
Photos Baldauf
Starting at the bottom of the car, the front and rear bumpers don’t look obviously different from those fitted to a Z06 equipped with the optional Z07 performance package, which adds a larger front splitter, and front corner dive planes as well as the larger rear wing. And the ZR1 also shares that car’s centrally-mounted quad tailpipe layout.
But the further up you move your gaze, the more you see that separates the two Corvettes. The ZR1 has a vented front hood to channel air through the nose and over the windshield, and it also features a second smaller vent behind the main vent ahead of the rear wheel on each side, plus another vent on the top of the wheel arch at the base of the rear pillar.
Related: Could This Be The Mighty 850 HP Corvette ZR1 Testing In Colorado?
And then there’s that huge rear wing. Compared with the Z06’s optional Z07 Performance package wing, which was also fitted to the second ZR1 spied here, and also the car spotted in the summer, this one looks more like a piece of serious racing equipment. It’s straighter across its horizontal surface and has much bigger end planes. Chevy says the aero-optioned Z06 makes 734 lbs (333 kg) of downforce at 186 mph (300 km/h), which is already double what a base Z06 produces, but you can bet that the ZR1 fitted with the wind seen above will generate a ton more squish.
The Corvette team is staying tight-lipped about exactly what drivetrain is tucked behind the new ZR1’s seats, and how much power it makes, but a document purportedly leaked from inside GM a couple of years ago said the ZR1 would feature a twin-turbo version of the Z06’s 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank screamer. The document said the addition of the blowers would inflate the LT7’s output from 670 hp (679 PS) to 850 hp (862 PS) and would push torque from 500 lb-ft (678 Nm) to 825 lb-ft (1,119 Nm).
Those are some heady numbers, but that same leaked document claimed there was even more to come. It suggested Chevy is planning a hybrid version of the ZR1, codenamed Zora, that would incorporate the E-Ray’s electric front axle motor to give the flagship Corvette all-wheel drive and a massive 1,000 hp (1,014 PS) output.
What kind of Nurburgring time do you think the Corvette team is aiming for with the Z06? You can check out our ’Ring lap record database here to see what it has to beat.
