Motor Trend: C7 Corvette ZR1 Could Have More than 700 HP

The 2014 Corvette Stingray Coupe has only been out for a month and now the rumor mill is back in full swing with discussions about the performance variants of the C7. Motor Trend has suggested that the next generation Corvette Z06 may have up to 600 horsepower while the King of the Hill Corvette ZR1 could be pushing 700 horses or more.

What’s interesting about the report is how Motor Trend thinks Chevy will get to those numbers.

Motor Trend says that the Z06 will keep its naturally aspirated 7.0-liter engine but horsepower output will be as high as 600. This goes against everything we’ve heard from Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter who told us that the 2013 Corvette Z06 and the 427 Convertible may be your last chance to get the 427 ci engine.

While we love the LS7 as much as one can, we believe the 7.0 liter engine will live on only as a crate engine. However, a previous rumor mentioned the LS7 could find its way into the 2014 Camaro.

According to Motor Trend, the ZR1 will be getting a supercharged version of the 5th Generation LT1 V8 and based on where that horsepower number comes in at, the Z06 will then be configured to come in somewhere around 100 hp less than the ZR1.

Motor Trend says the Z06/ZR1 horsepower output logic works like this:

If the ZR1 makes 675 hp or so, the Z06 will get 550. If the ZR1 cracks 700 hp, the Z06 will crack 600. Anyone who knows GM knows how this works: The top-dog Corvette will always be protected, even from its own variants.

Motor Trend has also made some bold predictions about Cadillac’s plans for 2014 CTS-V that may provide insight for the new Corvettes. According to MT, GM is testing both a twin-turbo V6 and a force fed V8 for its V-Series sedans. The thinking is that the supercharged version of the LT1 will replace the Gen 4 LSA while the ATS-V will get the V6.

The current line up of horsepower has a range of around 125 hp between the CTS-V and the two performance Corvettes: The Z06 is 505 hp, the CTS-V is 556 hp and the ZR1 is 638 hp.

So the real takeaway from this is to watch and see where the CTS-Vs HP numbers fall for a clue as to what range of HP the Z06 and ZR1 may end up with as it appears the Cadillac will make its debut sooner than either the C7 Z06 or the ZR1.

Motor Trend had previously reported that the C7 Z06 could be released the summer of 2014 as a 2015 model year while the ZR1 may come in the summer of 2015 as a 2016 model.

Source:
Motor Trend

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