With the last Ford GT rolling off the assembly line a few months ago, The Blue Oval no longer has any sort of traditional supercar in its lineup. Instead, the automaker has been focused on expanding the Ford Mustang lineup at a rapid clip, creating different versions of its iconic pony car for a variety of motorsports endeavors, as well as the Mustang GTD, which is a hyper-expensive machine that one must apply for – and be selected – to purchase. In the meantime, Ford’s cross-town rival GM continues to expand the Corvette lineup, this time, to include the rather stunning 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1.
We’ve known for a very long time now that the 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 was set to resurrect the automaker’s self-proclaimed “King of the Hill” model, but this time around, it’s also the most powerful V8-powered vehicle ever produced by a major auto manufacturer in the U.S. That comes courtesy of the new twin-turbocharged, dual overhead-cam, flat-plane crank 5.5-liter LT7 V8, which was derived from the LT6 in the Corvette Z06 and churns out an astounding 1,064 horsepower and 828 pound-feet of torque, and it’s mated to a fortified eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. That’s good enough to propel the new ZR1 down the quarter-mile in less than 10 seconds, as well as reach an estimated top speed of 215 mph.
Available in coupe and convertible form, the 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 even features a split rear window, just like the famed 1963 coupe, coupled with an array of carbon fiber aero bits and pieces that help create over 1,200 pounds of downforce at the car’s lofty top speed. Underneath, one will find Magnetic ride dampers and carbon ceramic brakes, coupled with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires wrapped around unique wheels measuring 20-inches up front and 21-inches in the rear.
Those that want more can opt for the ZTK Performance Package, which adds a high-downforce rear wing and various other carbon fiber aero bits, along with underbody strakes, unique suspension tuning, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. There are even some special touches inside the cabin, which include ZR1 badging, unique stitching patterns, and a boost gauge – fitting for the first turbocharged Corvette in the sports car’s history. The 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1 is slated to enter production next year at GM’s Bowling Green plant, but for now at least, the automaker isn’t sharing any pricing or availability info.
For now, at least, the closest thing The Blue Oval has to compete with the new ZR1 is the Mustang GTD, which packs an 800+ horsepower, supercharged 5.2L V8 and loads of race car-derived tech. However, that model is expected to cost over $300,000 and is extremely limited, as previously mentioned. It won’t be the last new high-performance S650 Mustang model, however, as another variant – which may or may not resurrect the Shelby GT500 nameplate – is expected to launch at some point in the future, too.
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage. And, in case you want the latest in Corvette news, head on over to our sister site, GM Authority.
Comments
and the battle rages!
Yeah and with GM you dont have to be a youtuber to get one. I bet it will cost less than the GTD and be available for real chevy guys. I think what GM is doing is great they are providing a supercar for the masses, unlike Ford who does it for the elite folks that have no interest in a regular Ford.
If you think you can buy one go to your Chevy dealer and try 🤣😂😆
If you have a good relationship with a Chevy dealer you will be able to get one it is not limited in anyway. I do not have any relationship with any Chevy dealer so I am out. I just wish Ford would do what Chevy is doing let anyone buy their top performance car with no limit to how many is made, like Chevy does. I can buy wright now a used ZR1 and try doing that with a current Ford GT.
Yeah, the Corvette’s sticker will be $150-$200,000 with a $1.5 million dollar dealer markup, because with making the Stingray, Z06, ERay (plus their convertible versions) out of the same factory, production of the ZR1 will be a trickle at best.
Top Speed is 233 mph, just announced. Should be on sale sometime next year.
Another thing it is not limited they will build you one if you want one, I wish Ford would take a hint on that. The GTD is just a car for the elite and not the regular Ford customer. The rest of us normal Ford customers cannot even dream of owning a GTD which is a shame.
Instead of fixing a very broken Ford, here comes Jimbo’s next big distraction.
Come on now, he’s doing his podcast.
There have far too many times in the past few years when I’m utterly disappointed being a Ford fan.
The GT350, amazing! GT500, killer! … We have since gotten a Dark Horse (essentially a Mach 1 with a new name), an EV hyper pickup and van that are useless to the real world, a Raptor R and the upcoming Mustang GTD, which btw, is built by MultiMatic and has no Mustang heritage to speak of. To add insult to injury, those who want one must have submitted a video application of why they should get one, complete with knee pads and a bib.
Fear not! Ford stock is rock steady at $11/share.
The Dark Horse is closer to the GT350 than it is to the Mach 1 which was Mustang GT PP2 done right rather than a true replacement for the GT350. The only reasons people are ragging on the Dark Horse and saying it’s a waste of money (seriously, GT owners think Dark Horse owners are knuckle-dragging mouth breathers that got suckered on a 15k appearance package) is because it doesn’t have a unique engine (Ford should have at least given the Dark Horse a 5.2L displacement even if it wasn’t a flat-plane crank engine, an extra 15 horsepower plus GT500 rods doesn’t do it) and visually more distinctive compared to the rest of the line-up. Those two elements on the GT350 combined give the car a lot more distinction compared to the regular car. Even the base 2016 GT350 is considered special, and it was closer to the Mustang GT PP2 than the Dark Horse is to the Mach 1.
That’s a real shame for the Dark Horse since it is a good car, and Ford’s street legal track day car and at this time seems to be the only serious streetable naturally aspirated track car in Ford’s foreseeable future (I hope I’m wrong here and if I am then the Dark Horse becomes redundant). If they want to the Dark Horse to resonate and gain fame like the Boss 302, Shelby GT350 and the Mach 1 (which started life as an appearance package) Ford needs to differentiate the car from the rest of the line-up with more aggressive visuals (they could go full on testosterone and give it gills like the GT350 with a hood like the GT500) and more displacement which of course would also put the engine around 520 horsepower for 35 horsepower more than the GT which is a lot more noticeable, especially in a world where we’ve been constantly told 10 extra horsepower is practically invisible. Do that and the Dark Horse becomes a bargain and something a lot of Mustang guys would aspire to.
The ZR1 versus the GTD most importantly is realistic availability and a lot less $ than the unavailable GTD
Having driven an unrestricted 2019 Z06 [650 HP- IMSA race cars were limited to 500] on the banking at Daytona and scared myself with my closing rate on other cars, so these new Z1s won’t find many “qualified” drivers and hope their relatives buy death insurance ASAP. Definitely not designed to be a streetable car for even the above average driver.
Ford should abort the GTD, the price is ridiculous and the ZR1 runs circles around it!
The headline should read “2025 CHEVY CORVETTE ZR1 DEBUTS WITH NO DIRECT FORD GT RIVAL (YET)”.
Love my Mustangs but the Corvette is an entirely different class of car. The mega-buck GTD is so rare it really can’t be considered a true competitor since so few will be on the road (The ZR1 will likely blow the entire GTD production away in its first year alone) let alone it is loosely based on the regular production Mustang, which IMO Ford should have addressed by making the S650 SLA front suspension and transaxle at least so there would be some real continuity between the GTD and regular production car. a 1000 HP Mustang would be really handicapped for the same reason Corvette abandoned the front engine/rear wheel drive architecture (and remember it too was a transaxle car) was because they had reached the limit of effective performance with a 755hp car and damn near full track tires. The retired S550 GT500 needed all that curb weight and a DCT in order to handle 760hp and even then, traction was an issue and the reason why the DCT was so important to the car’s performance since it was really a traction management device where they hyped the millisecond shift times so they wouldn’t have to talk about torque management.
These Mustang vs Corvette fanboi duels are also pointless because they are two entirely different cars. The Corvette is an actual sports car and a performance car from the base car on, and the Mustang starts life as a sporty non-performance coupe that gets high performance variants. It isn’t built as a full-on performance car from the start like the vette. A 1000 horsepower Corvette against a 1000 horsepower Mustang (especially with the transmission located right behind the engine and leaving less weight for the rear wheels) would get embarrassingly beat by the Corvette.
Save the four-digit horsepower Ford performance for whatever replaces the GT Mark IV and is streetable. Don’t waste it on a car that was having trouble coping with 760 horsepower.
Not too shabby, Chevy. You know, I saw a lot of people that were really impressed with the 5.5L engine making a thousand horsepower, but it didn’t really seem to surprise me, even if 1,000 horsepower is a bit more than anything I’ve driven. Who would have thought that putting turbochargers on an already strong engine would put out high numbers?
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