Calling all speed freaks and apex junkies, the news you’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Pricing for the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is now public information. You know, the 1,064-horsepower spaceship from Bowling Green. When this top-dog Corvette debuted, we knew it was going to be a performance bargain. We just didn’t know how much of a bargain it was going to be.
Here’s the headline figure — $174,995 including freight. That’s still a lot of money, but in the world of 230 MPH-plus cars, it’s a certified steal. If you want something else that can clock that speed right off the showroom floor, you’re likely spending seven figures. Two commas in the price tag.
It gets crazier when you look at where other desirable sports cars sit right now. If you want a 2025 Porsche 911 GT3, you’re looking at a base price of $224,495 including freight. That’s $49,500 more than a Corvette ZR1, and while it’s likely a different sort of fun, it’s not in the same bracket of raw speed as Kentucky’s finest.
Alright, so what about a European supercar? Something that can blow past the 200 mph mark, something with billionaire doors. A McLaren Artura starts at $249,100, some $74,105 more than a Corvette ZR1, yet it has 374 fewer horsepower and a top speed 28 MPH lower than that of the ZR1. America’s hypercar will blow the doors off the Artura in a numbers game, all while costing an entire Mustang Dark Horse less.
Let’s look at it from another perspective:What if you’re already looking at a Z06 and want to make the next step up? Well, that’s where the ZR1 starts to look a lot more expensive. A 2025 Corvette Z06 starts at $116,795 including freight and gas guzzler tax, so you’re jumping up $58,200 if you want the ZR1. That’s substantial, but at the same time, $58,200 to go from trackday special to basically a hypercar is also absurd value.
Now, if we’re talking options, there are a few things you should know. The trim walk from the standard 1LZ trim to the plusher 3LZ trim isn’t actually that crazy, adding $11,000 to the price of the coupe for a sticker of $185,955. The hardtop convertible model starts at $184,995 for the 1LZ trim and goes up to $195,995 for the 3LZ trim. The carbon fiber aerodynamics pack with a big wing, dive planes, an extra aero element on the hood, and underbody strakes adds $8,495 to the price tag, while the ZTK track package adds $1,500 on top of that to get you the ultimate Corvette for lap times.
If you have $174,995 in your 401(k) and can get an allocation, you can play Prometheus. You can waltz with a bluegrass kaiju that threatens to gore bulls and behead Modenese stallions. The relative democratization of hypercar speed is here, and it took the king of the hill to bring it down from the mountaintop. Whether you love it or fear it, all hail the C8 Corvette ZR1. It’s a 233-MPH war cry decreeing that America isn’t done making crazy shit yet.
(Photo credits: Chevrolet)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
The C8 Corvette ZR1 Is Officially Quicker Than A Bugatti Veyron Despite Having Half The Driven Wheels
-
The 233-MPH 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Is Officially A Hypercar
-
This Dime-Sized Easter Egg On Every Corvette ZR1 Honors A Living Legend
-
The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Is America’s 1064 Horsepower Middle Finger To Italy. Here’s Everything You Need To Know
-
The Corvette ZR1 Has Always Been Proof America Can Build Supercars When It Wants To
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
This is a GM flex. There is no reason for the car to exist, there are few buyers for it, and I, for one, am glad they built it. Extreme engineering, as well as racing, keeps the true believers at Chevrolet on board so their talent is available when innovation is required.
I don’t see the point. It’s faster than what Porsche et al will sell you for the same money, but er, so what? You can’t use the performance of the Porsche without going directly to jail or directly to a funeral home, depending on driving talent, so what’s the point of going even faster, exactly? A 911 is just such a nicer place to spend time than a Corvette, always has been, probably always will be.
Having recently been in a C8 Corvette, you can blatantly see where GM saved every single penny.
All I want to know is how many more Tommy Bahama shirts can I buy if I get the ‘vette?
As many as you own pairs of jorts and retired Navy caps. It’s the law.
*insert bender neat gif* maybe if I made x3 my pay I would get one of these haha
Introducing yet another semi-affordable speed demon no Crown Vic (or any other) Police Car could possibly chase!
Guess I’ll sell my stock in Tesla now 🙂
$175k May be the MSRP, but I’d be stunned if one of these ever actually transacts for that. People will readily be paying upwards of $250k.
Z06: GT3 :: ZR1: GT2
Will be curious to see how many of these are built. Z06 demand ended up taking a couple years to satisfy, but they are now comfortably under sticker everywhere. Lots of predictions that ZR1s will go for $100K over, will never be under sticker, and so on, but I’m not sure I believe it.
I’m curious of the same. GM has stated this gen ZR1 will be as mass produced as possible, with no caps, and be demand driven, so I hope they’ll be more widely available and the scalping market will be short lived. Realistically, the people that can afford these care less about MSRP and more about how quickly they can get one, but I can only hope these will be reasonably available. C6 ZR-1s and even the automatic C7 ZR-1s seem to constantly trade well under MSRP, so we can only hope these will follow that trend eventually.
I don’t think the market for the ZR1 is going to be all that big. The first year or so they’ll sell every single one of them at over sticker to rich baby boomers/the “my Corvette best Corvette” crowd but I can’t imagine that demand is going to stay high forever. $175,000 is an assload of money and puts this thing within striking distance of a lot of cars with exponentially more desirable badges.
Us enthusiasts love the ZR1, and I’ve always loved the Corvette and GM sports cars in general as an institution that brings performance to the people. Even though it’s getting more expensive I still think a base C8 is within the realm of “the average American can work their way to owning one”, which is important for the Corvette ethos.
But the average supercar buyer? I’m not so sure that they’ll be enticed by this when Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and high end Porsches exist. I’d imagine that in those circles rolling up in a ZR1 would be considered declasse. I almost see this as the ultimate redneck dream car…and I say that with affection, not to demean it.
Ah the age old stereo type the Corvette will always have to contend with no matter how objectively good of a car it is.
Edit: to be clear I agree that the European supercar crowd will always look down upon the Corvette. Still I’m happy it exists!
I’m with you. This is the best Corvette and the fastest American car you can buy. A few people that were scoping out Z06s might spring for a ZR1, but that’s a huge price delta. Probably more likely to get shopped as an alternative to a 911 Turbo for the retiring surgeons crowd. But I think the ZR1 will mostly be a car for people with supercar money who are obligated to BUY AMERICAN. The main buyer, I think, is “successful small town businessman who gets every new Corvette”. The market for “I can afford a Ferrari but I’m going to save money on this Corvette” is pretty small.
I wonder about this.
They are obviously trying to bring Corvette upmarket in both price and prestige and seem to be succeeding *to an extent*.
A Ford GT wouldn’t be out of place in that circle, so it’s not just a domestic thing. Maybe the ZR1 will be the same.
The Ford GT was a ground up supercar. The ZR1 is not. At the end of the day it’s a souped up version of a $60,000 car, and I think that’s one of the things that’ll hold it back.
I agree with you there, but of course a GT3 is a souped up $100K 911 and still gets nods of approval (and a Viper was ground up and doesn’t), so I don’t think there’s necessarily zero hope for the ZR1 either.
The big draw with the GT3 is the engine, which if my memory serves me correctly has almost nothing in common with the base 911 engine. It’s also available with a manual, which pretty much nothing else at that price point can boast. I think a lot of the mystique is that it asks more of its drivers.
Any old doofus can hop in a Huracan or Aston and drive fast. A GT3 is a different story. It requires patience and respect…and I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I’d imagine that the manual take rate is quite high.
Too many people say that will happen with the C8 ZR1 because it’s what happened with the C7 ZR1. They just forget that the C7 ZR1 was always known to be a one model year only, last crazy powerful front engine Corvette, as well as at the time potentially thought to be the last manual Corvette as well. None of which apply to this. People also still talk about a possible Zora model above this for the C8, not sure if that is true or not, but it seems prevalent enough of a rumor that I think could also tamp down speculative buying.
Plan Adminstrator’s Legally-Required Caution on Early 401(k) Distributions and Loans: F*cking SEND IT.
Just be sure to take out an extra 50% to cover the taxes on the distribution.