​​Just in Case You’re Interested: the 2025 Corvette Has 1064 Horsepower​

We live in a time when a production car requiring four digits to list its horsepower is not unheard of. It isn’t common, to be sure, but the first production vehicle to make the claim was the Bugatti Veyron 20 years ago. Since then, more than a dozen other models have reached the four-figure club. Most come from brands you’ve probably never encountered in person, like Koenigsegg, Czinger, Hennessey, or Zenvo. Others are part of the EV revolution, such as the Tesla Plaid or Lucid Air Sapphire.  

But when over 1000 horsepower comes strictly from an internal combustion engine in a car optimally configured to handle it – slung low, mid-engine, staggered 20 and 21-inch high-performance summer tires – and that car bears a Chevy badge, it’s extraordinary. Behold the 2025 Corvette ZR-1. Car and Driver tested it, and Twin Falls Chevrolet takes you along for the ride.  

The first ZR-1 dates back to the 1989 C5 model, which turned heads with its (post-SAE rated) 375 horsepower. It could accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill in 4.6 seconds and boasts a top speed of 175 mph. Cutting over two seconds off that 0-60 time took three design generations, 2.8 times as much power, and about four times the MSRP. But here it is—anyone with a little over $200K burning a hole in their pocket can snag one. Still, a certificate of completion from a high-performance driving training course wouldn’t be a bad idea. 

Car and Driver’s tester started out at $178,195 but had an added $13,995 carbon-fiber aero package, the $8,495 ZR1 Carbon-fiber aero package – noticeable for the big wing out back, and the ZTK Performance Package, which includes magnetic ride control dampers and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. That and about $3K of non-performance options brought their price to $205,265. 

Their acceleration numbers require experiencing them to truly appreciate them. From a standstill, 60 mph is reached in 2.2 seconds. In the time the original ZR-1 reached 60, the current one passes 100 mph (4.5 sec.). 130 mph is achieved in 7.1 seconds, and the car roars through the quarter-mile mark at 9.5 seconds, reaching 149 mph. These are not runs to make willy-nilly. As Car and Driver states, “Perhaps the ZR1’s most important instrument-cluster display is the tire temperature readout”. Putting the hammer down on the rear tires when cold is a quick way to get an inadvertent 360-degree view of your surroundings. 

If you have a long enough stretch of road and some legal protection, you might reach 225 mph. It’s noteworthy that Robert Shwartzman won the 2025 Indy 500 pole position with a four-lap average of just under 233 mph. In theory, you can achieve 233 mph without the aero package, but that wing that limits that final eight mph also creates over 1200 pounds of downforce at top speed, which you’ll likely want to have. 

Achieving those numbers in a twin-turbocharged, twin intercooled 5.5-liter (333 cubic inch), 32-valve flat-plane V8, rated at 1,064 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm and 828 lb-ft of torque @ 6,000 rpm. 

As mentioned, unlike some electric sedans, the ZR-1 is fully optimized for these speeds, including achieving 1.13 g on the publication’s 300-foot skidpad and stopping from 70-0 in 140 ft.  

Aside from the $200K hole in your pocket, there are a few additional sacrifices necessary for this kind of speed. The cargo space in the front is given up to cooking and aerodynamic apparatus, and achieving those times yields about four mpg. The EPA’s more conventional driving provides a city/highway/combined estimate of 14/12/18.  

The interior is nearly identical to that of a Sting Ray, but the exterior makes it clear this is no ordinary Corvette, if such a thing exists. Even without the large wing and carbon fiber components of the Aero Package, the front vents are larger, and a cascading series of additional cooling vents divides the rear window in a functional homage to the 1963 Sting Ray Coupe. 

The Corvette ZR-1 may not have an exotic badge, but it is a niche vehicle that is not likely to randomly appear in the Twin Falls Chevrolet inventory waiting for a buyer. However, if you are genuinely interested, one of our sales professionals should be able to find or order one for you.