{"id":146609,"date":"2020-04-30T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T16:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=146609"},"modified":"2020-04-30T12:03:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T16:03:09","slug":"internal-document-confirms-1000-hp-corvette-c8-zora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2020\/04\/internal-document-confirms-1000-hp-corvette-c8-zora\/","title":{"rendered":"Internal Document Confirms 1,000 HP Corvette C8 Zora"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Chevrolet plans to honor Zora Arkus-Duntov, the father of the Corvette, with 1,000-horespower version of the new mid-engined C8.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The long-rumored Corvette Zora, it turns out, is very much part of the plan at General Motors, its existence revealed, ironically, by the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

Named for Zora Arkus-Duntov, the legendary General Motors engineer widely known as \u201cthe father of the Corvette,” it\u2019s destined to be the \u201cultimate\u201d version of the new C8 mid-engined \u2018Vette. The Zora will rely on a gas-electric hybrid drivetrain that will punch out a full 1,000 horsepower through all four wheels.<\/p>\n

The possibility of naming a range-topping model after Arkus-Duntov has long been discussed and rumors were renewed when GM confirmed that the C8, or eighth-generation, Corvette would adopt the mid-engine layout the long-time chief engineer had so desperately wanted to migrate to. The project has now been confirmed through an internal document ordering a temporary halt to numerous GM programs due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(GM shuts down new orders for new Corvette.)<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Among other things, the stop-work order confirmed that an assortment of other Corvette models are in the works, as was widely expected, including the traditional step-ladder upgrades, starting with the Z06 and then the ZR1.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Original Corvette Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov helped develop these concepts: (l-r) CERV I, CERV III and CERV II.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The internal document, significantly, confirms what TheDetroitBureau.com has repeatedly reported: Chevrolet will be turning to electrification to punch up Corvette\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

That includes a Corvette Grand Sport originally due out in 2023 that was to pair the current Stingray\u2019s 6.2-liter V-8 with a hybrid-boost system to deliver about 600 hp, or more than 100 ponies beyond what the track-rated C8 can manage.<\/p>\n

But things will be pushed to the extreme with the Zora that, insiders indicate, will pull together an assortment of bells and whistles to get up to a full 1,000 hp. That starts with a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8 and at least one, and possibly even more, electric motors.<\/p>\n

(First Drive: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.)<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The hybrid package will drive both axles to ensure that power gets to the pavement during aggressive launches. What\u2019s unclear is the size of the battery pack and whether the Zora might even have some measurable all-electric driving range.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Due to the coronavirus, upcoming variants of the new C8 Corvette are being delayed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As in the past, Chevy plans to roll out one new Corvette variant at a time and, based on the document that was leaked, the strategy appeared to be for one new model roughly every year, starting with the next-generation Z06 in the 2022 model-year. That more track-focused package will use a naturally aspirated twin-cam 5.5-liter V-8 expected to make around 650 horsepower.<\/p>\n

Next up, a twin-turbo version of that V-8 powering the C8 ZR1. Essentially, it gets the same internal combustion system as the Zora minus the hybrid boost, but still was expected to punch out something in the range of 850 hp, or about 100 more than the C7 version of the ZR1.<\/p>\n

The Zora was planned for some time around the 2025 model-year. It seems likely that most, if not all the Corvette variants in development right now may wind up being pushed back. Significantly, GM has said it does not plan to cancel \u201cany programs\u201d due to the pandemic-related shutdown of its engineering and manufacturing operations, emphasizing “near-term programs like full-size SUVs, and our EV portfolio . . . will see little or no impact. ”<\/p>\n

(First 2020 Corvette Stingray rolls off production line.)<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

That might surprise some observers as it has been widely speculated that the industry, in general, will see a significant number of products cut, as well as delayed, not only due to development delays but because of the huge financial hit manufacturers are taking. Ford earlier this week confirmed it is scrapping plans to develop an all-electric SUV as part of a joint venture with EV start-up Rivian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The long-rumored Corvette Zora, it turns out, is very much part of the plan at General Motors, its existence revealed, ironically, by the coronavirus pandemic. Named after Zora Arkus-Duntov, the father of the Corvette, is a 1,000-hp hybrid that is being delayed now, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,5],"tags":[],"make":[45,58],"post-state":[],"category_old":[118,150,151,123,195,135,133,300,299,243,154,132,125,139,164,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146609"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=146609"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=146609"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=146609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}