Just What Is This Mysterious Corvette?

It’s fair to say the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is going to be a pretty extreme bit of kit. With 1064bhp on tap from a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8, who could really want more power on hand? Chevrolet, apparently.

A completely disguised mule looking an awful lot like a ZR1 has been spotted lapping the Nürburgring by CarSpyMedia, which isn’t an unusual thing even if the production car has been revealed. The wing remains intact, as does the more extreme bodykit – yet there are a few details suggesting there’s something else going on here.

The biggest giveaway is a bright yellow sticker slapped on the engine cover, which indicates some form of electric propulsion on this prototype. It’s very possible then that this prototype, thought to be codenamed ‘Zora’, is hiding an even more powerful hybrid system.

It could simply be a rouse. However, real C8 nerds, as pointed out by Motor1, will also be able to spot the fact that the vertically mounted front radiator as seen on the hybrid E-Ray has been used here too. Presumably, then, this is utilising an all-wheel-drive system derived from that car.

If so, we’d expect this to be running the ZR1-spec LT7 powering the rear wheels while a single electric motor drives the front axle. We’ve got no indication of a power figure at this stage but if we simply take stats from the unit found on the E-Ray, expect a combined figure north of 1200bhp. If that’s the case, crikey.

Oh and in case you’re wondering about the downwards-pointing exhausts, that’s to ensure it doesn’t exceed the Nürburgring’s 130 decibel noise restrictions. There’s no real concern of going hybrid muting the production version’s violent soundtrack, then.

Expect it to be a while before we hear anything official on the supposed Zora. The ZR1 has yet to make it to market, with production starting early next year, and you would assume Chevrolet would want to give it some breathing space.