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2019 Chevy Corvette ZR1 from Hennessey makes 1,200 horsepower

The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is the ultimate Corvette, and now that Chevy is going the mid-engine route, it will forever be the best traditional front-engine Vette you can buy. If you thought 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque would be enough to keep Hennessey from wanting more, you’re sadly mistaken.

These guys tend to be on the extreme side of power, and they’ve managed to extract 1,200(!) horsepower and 1,066 pound-feet of torque out of the Vette’s 6.2-liter supercharged V8. This one is called the HPE1200, and it’s one of three versions of the ZR1 you can upgrade to. The other two are called the HPE850 and HPE1000, with 850 and 1,000 horsepower respectively.

If you decide to go with the 1,200-horsepower monster Corvette, you should know that it requires race fuel to get all 1,200 ponies. You’ll still get 1,100 horsepower running on 93 octane, though. Hennessey does a whole lot of modifications to get the ZR1 up to this power output. They use a ported factory supercharger, lower and upper pulley upgrades, a custom camshaft, ported cylinder heads, upgraded intake and exhaust valves, better valve springs and retainers and a billet high-flow throttle body. All the exhaust gases get pushed out through stainless steel headers and high-flow catalytic converters. Hennessey upgrades the optional automatic transmission to handle the power, but says the stock manual seven-speed doesn’t require any changes. There are no suspension or braking changes, but it’s not as though the ZR1 is lacking in these areas. Lastly, your stupid fast ZR1 gets a 3-year 36,000-mile warranty direct from Hennessey.

Hennessey doesn’t quote acceleration numbers for the 1,200-horsepower car, but the HPE1000 is rated for 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds with the optional drag radials. It does the quarter mile in 9.4 seconds at 147 mph with those same tires. Top speed is a ridiculous 230 mph. The 1,000-horsepower ZR1 has almost all the same upgrades as the HPE1200, but drops the ported supercharger, high flow throttle body and race fuel capability. The HPE850 is mostly just bolt-ons, with no internal engine modifications to speak of.

Pricing and timing is available upon request from Hennessey.

April 24, 2019 / Comments Off

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C8 Chevy Corvette has reportedly faced chassis twist, electrical, legal issues

Don Sherman at Hagerty said he “gave the bushes another relentless beating to compile an updated report” on what’s been happening with the mid-engined C8 Chevrolet Corvette. Since it appears that General Motors is throwing a gaggle of new tech at the next generation of America’s sports car, it’s not shocking that there have been some teething problems. One issue was the electrical gremlins that made news in December. At the time, reports said excessive draw required a redesign of the coupe’s wiring system.

Sherman’s intel corroborates electrical trouble, saying it’s part of GM’s adoption of a new writing architecture. GM product chief Mark Reuss talked about the Global B electrical system in 2015. A Reuters report said Global B would “move much of a vehicle’s computer power to the … cloud,” and in doing so enable over-the-air updates. To ensure privacy, it’s said GM conferred with Boeing and military contractors about network security. Sherman wrote that “100 or more computer modules per vehicle communicate on CAN (computer area network) bus,” and Corvette engineers are — or were — having a tough time getting all those nodes on the same team.

A second delay came from the power unleashed by the top-tier twin-turbo model with 900-1,000 horsepower, thought to be the Zora trim. Hard work on the throttle twisted the aluminum spaceframe enough to crack the backlight. A poster on Mid-Engined Corvette forum wrote that this is an old issue, solved when GM put its Cray supercomputer to work to beef up the chassis. A poster over at Corvette Forum said insiders told him “that it is literally frightening to floor” the throttle in the hi-po model, and that GM “had a team of lawyers in to advise on the legal perils of selling such a potent vehicle for street use.”

Another matter Sherman mentioned we can’t even label a problem. Supposedly, designers had “some unspecified bone of contention” with the development engineers. But unless the designer also happens to be the engineer, that happens all the time on every vehicle. What might matter most is that at the end of last month, spy photographers caught a convoy of prototypes in San Diego carrying Corvette engineers Tadge Juechter, Harlan Charles and Alex MacDonald. And a week ago in Yuma, Arizona another convoy included none other than Mark Reuss in one of the passenger seats. Corvette watchers take this to mean the program is back on track.

We’d been told to expect a standalone reveal sometime this year, and Sherman thinks that could go down at the 25th anniversary celebrations of the National Corvette Museum at the end of August. His intel figures the base, 500-hp LT2 V8 version will come in between $60,000 and $70,000. LT6 and LT8 V8 models will goose the output in steps, up to around 1,000 horses. When the eventual hybrid arrives, it’s said the electric motor powering the front wheels will “consume the (front) trunk space otherwise used to carry two sets of golf clubs in the base model.” That sounds suspect to us, but we’ll all find out soon enough. All will wear the Stingray badge, but Zora could be applied to the capstone trim.

Paperwork another user on Corvette Forum found has been taken to mean the C8 will start production in December. The country’s largest Corvette dealer, Kerbeck Chevrolet in Atlantic City, New Jersey has begun accepting $1,000 refundable deposits for a place in the C8 line, and has put double-digit discounts on C7s in stock, with discounting also happening elsewhere as dealers try to reduce a huge C7 backlog. We suppose that means things are getting warmer. A little warmer.

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March 13, 2019 / Comments Off

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C8 Corvette rumored to launch next summer at dedicated event

GM Authority returns with more insider trading on the C8 Chevrolet Corvette. The site, which recently reported that America’s sports car will be delayed six months over an electrical issue, says now that the launch won’t come at an auto show. Citing “sources close to the matter,” GMA says we’re looking at a summer reveal, “perhaps May at the earliest,” at a dedicated event where the ‘Vette won’t share its new look on life with any other vehicle. Seems only fitting, since two years ago Chevrolet launched the latest Camaro at a standalone event in May in Detroit.

Price has been an even more confusing topic than the launch date, with numbers from $70,000 to $170,000 making claims. Seems that three months ago, Bob Lutz told Autoline the C8 would run roughly $5,000 more than the current C7. With 2019 C7 prices having just risen for the new year, the entry Stingray Coupe starts at $56,995 out-the-door, putting a Lutz-based estimate around $62,000.

The Bob has revised his figures, though. The Mid-Engined Corvette Forum got hold of Road and Track‘s December 2018/January 2019 issue, and posted a snippet from Lutz’s “Ask Bob” column. He writes, “I expect the goal is to sell the C8, version for version, at a little more than the C7.” We don’t know how Lutz defines “a little?” If Chevy can get the cap the starting bid at $70,000, that feels like win in spite of a 25-percent price jump. There’s a healthy gap to the C7’s price, which will sell beside the C8 for a while, and that buys a 6.2-liter mid-engined V8 with more than 455 horsepower. Besides, the 992-series Porsche 911 starts at $110,000.

More expensive versions will come, though. In the same column, Lutz wrote, “The superfast variants will come out two to three years later and cost more than $100,000.” Those roaring trims are predicted to include the much-discussed twin-turbo DOHC V8, and a hybridized model with four-figure horsepower and all-wheel drive thanks to an electrified front axle.

On a side note, Hagerty ran a story in October interviewing three previous Corvette chief engineers whose tenures ran back to 1975, when Zora Arkus-Duntov retired. They talk about why the mid-engined Corvette has taken so long, from GM skepticism to core-customer apathy. There are a few revelations, such as when Dave McLellan says it was clear Chevrolet designed the C8 first, then designed the C7 to be an obvious evolutionary step from the C6. And Dave Hill, sounding just like Porsche 911 boss August Achleitner, says of the C8’s automatic gearbox, “Traditional customers will certainly resent that change because the manual-shift cars are fun to drive. But I believe that machines often outdo humans…”

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December 23, 2018 / Comments Off

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Ultimate mid-engined C8 Corvette a 1,000-hp, all-wheel-drive hybrid?

Car and Driver apparently has a little black book of notes on the next-generation, mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette, and recently published a few of the meaty bits. Even though Chevrolet is moving the required V8 to a space between the passenger and the rear wheels, The Bowtie doesn’t want the Corvette to leave the realm of affordability.

To that end, C8 body panels will be mainly fiberglass, laid over a spaceframe that’s mainly aluminum, and the initial coupe will launch with an evolution of the current 6.2-liter LT1 V8. The article says weight should be “a bit heavier than the current car’s roughly 3,500 pounds” (Chevrolet lists the base Stingray at 3,298 pounds), but horsepower should also climb to about 500, and CD expects the entry-level C8 to be quicker than an entry-level C7. The follow-up engine will be a 5.5-liter DOHC V8 with at least 600 hp that can spin its flat-plane crankshaft to 9,000 rpm, although the usable redline will be a few hundred rpm lower. Sometime after that, Chevy will roll out a twin-turbocharged version of that 5.5-liter, said to be worth around 800 hp.

Here’s where things go berserk: After an interval long enough to give the world time to appreciate Chevy’s work, CD says the carmaker will add a 200-hp electric motor to that twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8. The 200-hp electric appendage will sit up front and power the front wheels, creating a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive, all-American sports car with roughly 1,000 hp. Sold at dealerships next to the Malibu and the Trax. With a traditional carmaker warranty. Which, if it comes true, is bonkers. And then some.

Elsewhere around the car, a front end designed to inhale as much cooling air as possible will be stuffed with intercoolers, and vents under the taillights will provide escape for engine heat. Active aero devices include the C8 Corvette using the front-axle-lift system to vary the coupe’s angle of attack, and a powered spoiler will sit on the rear decklid. Tailpipes move to the edges of the rear fascia instead of being lined up in the center, and coil springs replace transverse composite leaf springs.

But there won’t be a manual. The magazine says an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox developed with Tremec will be the only shifting option.

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June 3, 2018 / Comments Off

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Mid-engine Corvette spied with C5-style nose, dual rear calipers

Once again, a mid-engine Chevy Corvette prototype has been spotted in the wild, and this one reveals even more new details. They include hints at the front-end design, a look at the steering wheel, and a preview of the brakes.

Starting from the front we can see on the passenger-side of the front bumper, the grille opening seems to end toward the center of the car. This is very much like the design of the 1997-2005 C5 Corvette. This could also mean that the center portion of the bumper could double as a location to mount a front license plate, but it could also just as easily be a styling feature. The grilles on each side also appear to be quite large. Additionally, the headlights look more horizontal than those on the current C7.

These photos also give us a small glimpse into the cockpit of the new mid-engine Corvette where we can see the steering wheel. It has a distinctive flat top to it, probably to give it the look of a race car steering wheel. It won’t be the first to have a flat-top wheel (and presumably flat-bottom wheel), as the Ford GT has a similar design.

Back on the outside, we get a close look at the brakes, and the rears look interesting. We can see two sets of calipers over the rear rotors. The fronts appear to have just single sets of calipers, but they look like beefy ones.

We may see the mid-engine corvette revealed next year, but it could also get pushed to 2020. We’ve seen evidence of both a naturally aspirated V8, possibly an iteration of the 6.2-liter LT1 engine, and a twin-turbo V8, which could be a 4.2- or 5.5-liter V8. Since Cadillac’s former boss has said it doesn’t want to share its 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8, we could see the 5.5-liter as being more likely, possibly even a bored and stroked version of the Cadillac 4.2-liter.

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May 16, 2018 / Comments Off

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Chevy C8 mid-engine Corvette hits public streets

After years of watching the mid-engine Chevy Corvette C8 behind proving ground fencing, we finally get a look at the super ‘Vette on public roads. These spy shots show the car out testing along with a Porsche 911 Carrera S and two C7 Corvettes. The one behind the 911 appears to be a Z06, and a ZR1 can be spotted in the background of another photo.

Visually, there isn’t much new here compared with the last C8 we saw. We get glimpses of the rear diffuser and exhaust tips, as well as the side skirts. They appear to be unchanged. Those side skirts do reveal part of what looks to be a fairly large intake vent along the side, which considering the car’s engine placement isn’t surprising.

We do see two sets of wheels that look production ready. The first appeared on the prototype we saw in the winter. The other is flashier with the centers of the spokes featuring a machined or polished finish along with small black-painted spokes coming off the centers.

Long ago, it appeared that the mid-engine Corvette would appear in 2019. While still possible, we also wouldn’t be surprised if that gets moved further down the calendar. CAD drawings have revealed both naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged V8 engines in mid-engine placements. The naturally aspirated engine is probably a version of the current LT1 pushrod engine found in the C7 Corvette Stingray and Grand Sport, as well as the Camaro SS. The twin-turbo engine appears to be new and is double-overhead cam. Though it would be natural to assume the Bowling Green-built twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter V8 going in the CT6 V-Sport, but former Cadillac boss Johan de Nysschen said that wasn’t going to happen. But, the Corvette might get a version of it with more displacement. Previous rumors have mentioned a 5.5-liter engine, and a 4.2-liter engine was mentioned in those same rumors.

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May 3, 2018 / Comments Off

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Sunday Drive: From a mid-engine ‘Vette to a restomod RV

Automotive enthusiasts are a diverse bunch. As proof, we present last week’s top posts on Autoblog, starting with some really good spy photos of the upcoming mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette. Will it be sold alongside a classic front-engine ‘Vette? We have no idea, but we can’t wait to find out.

Up next is a pickup truck. Can’t get much further from a supercar, right? At least both the Corvette and the 2019 Ram 1500 – which will debut a radical new design that appears to eschew the mini big-rig look of past Rams in favor of something more refined – are both American.

Decidedly not American? The Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV. The boxy off-road ‘ute looks a heck of a lot like the old one, which is probably a good thing, but we know it’ll be fancier and more luxurious than ever before. Check out the leaked images below.

Also hailing from Germany, but sharing absolutely nothing else in common at all, is the Audi A4 Allroad. We’ve been driving this all-wheel-drive wagon for a while now, and we like it quite a bit. And, last but not least, is a 1959 bus that’s been converted into an RV.

Like we said, y’all certainly are a diverse bunch.

Mid-engine Corvette — our clearest pictures yet

2019 Ram 1500 shows its full face

2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class revealed in leaked photos

2018 Audi A4 Allroad Drivers’ Notes Review | Wagons still rule

This Mercedes O 319 restomod camper van shames your VW Microbus

January 7, 2018 / Comments Off

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Genovation GXE, electric Corvette Grand Sport conversion, coming to CES

Last year, Rockland, Maryland-based Genovation Cars announced the second generation of its electric sports car, the GXE – which stands for Genovation Extreme Electric. This week, the company announced the pre-production GXE will make a silent splash at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show. The first gen took the C6 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 as a donor vehicle, swapping the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 for two electric motors producing roughly 600 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. The organ transplant was good for a land speed record for street-legal electric cars at 205.6 miles per hour, and a standing-mile record for electric cars at 190.4 mph.

The second generation switches to the C7 Corvette Grand Sport, the new GXE’s two electric motors should get something like 800 hp and 700 pound-feet of torque. All of that power, mind you, goes to the carbon fiber wheels at the rear. On top of more powerful electric motors, Genovation upped the battery capacity from 44 kWh to 60 kWh and maintained 50/50 weight distribution. Range is said to be around 150 miles if you play Holly Golightly with the throttle pedal, or just enough for two UFO-sounding laps of the 12.9-mile Nürburgring. Genovation says the the bolt to 60 mph happens in under three seconds – a traditional Grand Sport does it in 3.5 seconds – and top speed will be on the far side of 220 mph.

The coming GXE proves the adage that the best things in life are free, the second-best things in life are hideously expensive. Each of the 75 examples Genovation plans to build will cost $750,000. The limited run helps keep the price high, and buyers can opt for a feature not seen on any other electric car we know of: a seven-speed manual transmission. The company believes it won’t have any trouble finding buyers, and plans to use the haul of loot to finance a less expensive electric sports car called G2. Genovation has schedule GXE deliveries to begin at the end of 2019.

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December 31, 2017 / Comments Off

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