The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 may be the most extreme production ‘Vette ever. Out of the box, its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 produces 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque, and its top speed is expected to be 212 mph. But Hennessey Performance is working on a way to squeeze even more power out of this beast.
The Texas tuner is already planning a series of upgrade packages that will push the ZR1 into even crazier territory. The mildest version, relatively speaking, is called HPE850 and boasts output to 850 hp (torque remains the same). With 100 extra horses on tap, Hennessey says the Corvette ZR1 HPE850 will do 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, and run the quarter mile in 10.3 seconds at 136 mph.
The HPE1000 package offers, you guessed it, 1,000 hp, as well as 966 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough for 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, a quarter-mile run of 9.7 seconds at 147 mph, and a top speed of over 220 mph, according to Hennessey.
Finally, the HPE1200 package boasts 1,200 hp and 1,066 lb-ft of torque. With this upgrade, Hennessey says the ZR1 will do 0 to 60 mph in 2.2 seconds, rivaling the quickest-accelerating production cars. The tuner also forecasts a quarter-mile run of 9.2 seconds at 147 mph, and a top speed of over 230 mph. Not bad.
That kind of performance is definitely impressive, but the ZR1 is about more than just straight-line speed. Chevy engineers paid as much attention to aerodynamics as horsepower. Equipped with the optional “High Wing,” the ZR1 offers 60 percent more downforce than a Corvette Z06, and looks like something that escaped from either a racetrack or a Fast & Furious movie shoot.
Hennessy said production of its upgraded ZR1s will be limited to just a few copies. The company didn’t discuss pricing, but buyers will first have to buy a stock ZR1 to upgrade, starting at $119,995 for the coupe and $123,995 for the convertible. Deliveries begin next spring.
A tuned Corvette ZR1 won’t be the fastest car in Hennessey’s stable. The company is working on a new supercar called the Venom F5 that will boast 1,600 hp. Hennessey believes the car will top 300 mph, which would destroy the record for world’s fastest production car. Unveiled at the 2017 SEMA show, the F5 will enter production in 2019, priced at $1.6 million.
