Leak suggests hybrid Chevrolet Corvette Zora will join the 1,000-hp club

The team in charge of tapping into the Chevrolet Corvette's performance potential can't seem to keep a lid on technical specifications. We've seen more leaks than the average vintage Lancia mechanic. The latest unofficial morsels of information suggest the eighth-generation 'Vette will be the first to join the 1,000-horsepower club.

Internal documents highlighting Chevrolet's ongoing development projects somehow ended up in Hagerty's office. Their main purpose is to confirm the company put nearly all of its vehicle engineering teams on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, so every release date it penciled in is getting pushed back by about one model year, but they also shed light on the upcoming Corvette variants in the pipeline. As of writing, enthusiasts have a single engine to choose from. It's a 6.2-liter V8 tuned to deliver 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Next up is the Z06 model due out for the 2023 model year with a 5.5-liter V8 that will put 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque under the driver's right foot. Oddly, the last-generation Z06's supercharged, 6.2-liter V8 made the same amount of horsepower but 50 additional pound-feet of torque.

2024 will bring back the Grand Sport model with a 600-horsepower, 500-pound-foot evolution of the standard Corvette's V8. That's a generous bump over the last-generation, 460-horsepower Grand Sport.

The next rung on the Corvette hierarchy will be occupied by the ZR1, which will state its business with a twin-turbocharged version of the Z06's eight called LT7 internally. It will make 850 horsepower and 825 pound-feet of torque, figures that fall in line with earlier reports. It's expected to make its debut for the 2025 model year.

The final addition to the Corvette range will be the model's flagship. The same documents outline a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain made up of a twin-turbocharged, 5.5-liter V8 engine and an unspecified form of electrification. Odds are the eight-cylinder will spin the rear wheels while the motor(s) will zap the front wheels into motion. Either way, the drivetrain will deliver at least 1,000 horsepower — a first for the regular-production, street-legal Corvette — and 975 pound-feet of torque. Hagerty speculated this model will inaugurate the Zora nameplate Chevrolet trademarked in 2019 when it arrives in showrooms for the 2026 model year.

None of the aforementioned specifications or dates are official. Chevrolet is keeping its lips sealed when it comes to the Corvette's future. We're 100% certain more powerful models will join the range in the coming years, and we'll learn more about them — either from leaks or directly from the company — in the not-too-distant future.

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