The Z06 still holds the crown as the ultimate version of the C8-generation Chevy Corvette but soon, it will be usurped by the long-awaited ZR1. Soon after our spy photographers snapped a ZR1 prototype getting a shakedown on the Nurburgring, a CAD image reportedly depicting the engine of this new model surfaced online.
The key difference between the engine of the Corvette Z06 and that of the ZR1 is that the latter will rock a pair of turbochargers. Reports dating back more than four years have suggested that Chevy would go down the turbocharged route with the C8, rather than opting for a supercharging like the old ZR1. The image of the new model’s engine published exclusively by Motor Trend shows the car will have a V8 with the turbos positioned along each cylinder bank.
Read: C8 Corvette ZR1 Spied Testing On The Nurburgring, What Do You Think It Ran?
Chevrolet’s engineers have also developed some lovely piping for the engine and we can see that the exhaust has a design very similar to that of the standard Corvette Stingray, rather than the centrally-exiting tailpipes of the Z06.
It is unclear if the engine will displace the same 5.5-liters as it does in the Z06, but Motor Trend speculates that it could be downsized to reduce any unwanted vibrations. The publication also adds that the twin-turbocharged V8 may be supplemented by a pair of electric motors up front that could combine to deliver over 900 hp.
These suggestions are at odds with a document that surfaced online back in 2020 detailing forthcoming variants of the C8. This document accurately stated that the Z06 would have a 5.5-liter naturally-aspirated V8 but indicated it would have 650 hp and 600 lb-ft (813 Nm) as opposed to the 670 hp and 460 lb-ft (624 Nm) it actually has.
This same document suggested the C8 ZR1 will have a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 without hybridization that’s good for 850 hp and 825 lb-ft (1,118 lbs) while a version of this engine with electric motors would be reserved for the Corvette Zora with over 1,000 hp. However, some information from this document has proven to be inaccurate as it claimed the first hybrid Corvette would be dubbed the Grand Sport and have 600 hp and 500 lb-ft (678 Nm) when in fact it is actually coined the E-Ray and has 655 hp and a combined 595 lb-ft (807 Nm).
