[News Recap] More ZR1 Engine Rumors, Baffling C8 Trips to MI, C8s Under MSRP!

I’m on all the notable Corvette forums and social media pages all day every day, and I’ve done the legwork for you. Here are some compelling stories from the Corvette community.

1) Another Youtuber With Intel From GM

We have yet another engine theory thrown in the rumor mill when on Monday night enthusiast and Youtuber Justin from HorsePower Obsessed proclaimed that “somebody very high up at GM” who is a “close friend and in the know” has told him the ZR1 engine will be a 6.2-liter cross-plane crank V8. At the time of the video (posted below), Justin had not received confirmation on whether this 6.2L CPC engine would have a twin-turbo, but he put his reputation on the line that it is.

Let’s recap all the various ZR1 powerplant theories:

LT7 Twin-Turbo based on the flat-plane crank 5.5L LT6 out of the C8 Z06
670hp LT6 in concert with the E-Ray’s 160hp 1.9 kWh electric motor on the front wheels
LT6-based Twin-Turbo with TWO electric motors
6.2L cross-plane crank V8 (most likely with twin turbos)

As I’ve said before, with so many rumors swirling around the only time we will know for sure is when the reveal happens. What powerplant do you think the 2025 ZR1 will have?

2) Completed C8s Being Sent to Pontiac

This strange story has been sending ripples of speculation throughout the Corvette forum community and began developing on Monday when reports came in of a 2024 Stingray owner (with Museum delivery plans) discovering via OnStar that his C8 had been shipped to Pontiac. What made the trip even more baffling was the fact that he had already paid for the Corvette and completed all the paperwork, since the C8 was completed on 9/28 and at 4150 status.

What’s the deal?

So far, a total of five 2024 C8s have been confirmed to have made the trip to Pontiac, and MidEngineCorvetteForum “RedC8Z06” reported in the thread discussion that he reached out to “some people who might know”, and this was the response he received:

“We have units going to MI for updates that couldn’t be done at the plant before they will ship to their final destination, so after it is updated it will ship to the NCM. No projection on how long it will be.”

Further reporting by the Corvette Blogger confirmed from another source that, “the reasons for the cars shipping to Pontiac are for ‘repairs’ and again we heard the phrase ‘it could take a while’.”

Why can’t these updates and repairs be performed at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant? At the time of publication, no one has an answer for exactly why, just speculation that it could be a “structural” issue. CorvSport will keep you updated as soon as we hear!

Here is the discussion at MidEngineCorvetteForum that started it all

3) Corvette Market Finally Cooling Off

Last Friday, multiple social media pages and outlets like Corvette Blogger started reporting on a Montana dealer offering two brand-new Stingray “stock orders” under MSRP, a $3000 discount to be exact. The representative for the Montana dealer cited many factors, with winter weather coming being a major reason.

If you want to take a deeper dive into the market, notable enthusiast and Youtuber Mike at Brink of Speed lists the 5 reasons new C8s have dropped below MSRP.

I hope you have found this short but concise recap informative. We have the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 158,000 followers (39,000 since January!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello, Douglas B.