The 1,064-HP 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is far from America’s most powerful car
The Plastic Fantastic has a formula. Accessible base models, supercar-challenging performance models, and the occasional swivel-eyed lunatics at the tippy top. After decades of Z06s and ZR1s, we have yet another ballistically bonkers halo car. It’s the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Still, in spite of a four-figure horsepower output, the top-tier Corvette is far from America’s most powerful car.
Even with 1,064 horsepower on tap, the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is far behind other star-spangled hypercar competitors
The Chevrolet Corvette faithful waited in eager anticipation for the details of the latest ZR1. When General Motors pulled the cover back, the results were nothing short of groundbreaking. Boom. The C8 ZR1 not only eclipsed the previous generation’s already wild output, it buried it.
Rather than pushing the Corvette to 800 or 900+ horsepower, the C8 ZR1 produces 1,064 horsepower and 828 lb-ft of torque. Power is courtesy of a twin-turbocharged and tweaked version of the Z06’s flat-plane 5.5L V8. Now, I drove the Z06 on the track, and that car is a force to be reckoned with sans forced induction.
However, the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is far, far from the King of Horsepower Hill. While the C8 ZR1 manages to outmuscle the swansong Dodge Challenger, the SRT Demon 170, it falls short of other two-door American supercars and hypercars. In fact, the ZR1 is hundreds of horsepower short of the most powerful car to come out of America.
| Make and model | Horsepower | Engine type |
|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 | 1,064 HP | Twin-turbocharged 5.5L LT7 V8 |
| Hennessey Venom F5 | 1,817 HP | Twin-turbocharged 6.6L V8 |
| SSC Tuatara | 1,350 HP | Twin-turbocharged 5.9L V8 |
| Czinger 21C | 1,250 HP | Twin-turbocharged 2.9L V8, 3 electric motors |
For instance, the Hennessey Venom F5 produces 1,817 horsepower and 1,193 lb-ft of torque courtesy of its twin-turbo 6.6L V8. However, unlike the incipient C8 ZR1, the Venom F5 started at around $1.6 million for one of its 24 units. The ZR1, on the other hand, will likely challenge half-million-dollar supercars and hypercars for a modicum of the price. Cue the screeching eagles.
