Hagerty has gotten its hands on a supposedly leaked schedule of release dates for each upcoming trim of the new mid-engine Chevy C8 Corvette. It shows a range-topper is due to drop in 2025 as a 1,000 horsepower hybrid called the “Zora,” so that’s cool.
Here’s what’s on the document Hagerty claims to have come across:
Model Year, Engine, Power (est.)Torque (est.), Likely Application
2021LT2, 6.2-litre 16-valve OHV, 490-495 hp, 465-470 lb-ft, RHD Corvettes for export
2022LT6, 5.5-litre 32-valve DOHC, 650 hp, 600 lb-ft, Corvette Z06
2023LT2, 6.2-litre 16-valve OHV hybrid, 600 hp, 500 lb-ft, Corvette Grand Sport
2024LT7, 5.5-litre twin-turbo DOHC, 850 hp825 lb-ft, Corvette ZR1
2025LT7HP1, 5.5-litre twin-turbo DOHC hybrid, 1000 hp, 975 lb-ft, Corvette ZORA
So at the top we have your standard, current C8 Corvette. No real surprises with the Z06 or ZR1, though they both look like winners already. The big news is not just one, but two hybrid Corvette models. The Grand Sport comes two years before and about 400 horsepower shy of the second hybrid—the range-topping 1,000 HP model supposedly called the Zora.
If this document is a real leak, and if this outline stays true through to production (with possible covid-19 delays coming), then we got some early reports a little wrong about what motors went in which Corvettes.
Many reports believed the ZR1 would be the range-topper, as has been the case in the past, and assumed the high-performance hybrid gear would naturally go in that model. But it appears the Zora will be something new, so that’s fun.
Honestly, though, looking at the ridiculous numbers on this sheet, I can’t help but feel like we’ve hit “Too Much Corvette” as soon as you go beyond the Grand Sport.
What the hell is a man in an awkwardly-sweaty Under Armour soft tee tucked into pastel denim going to do with 1,000 horsepower? Nothing. Just nothing. They’ll never get there, probably.