![[POLL] How Would You Order Your C8 Corvette ZR1: Original RWD or the 'X'tra Grippy Hybrid AWD?](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/2025/06/062025_1.jpg)
Besides making this author fall head-over-heels for the new Roswell Green exterior paint color, what really stuck with me about Keith’s live report from the ZR1X reveal came from the “Growing Portfolio” slide that compared the ZR1 and ZR1X side-by-side. My growing fascination with how the two hyper-Vettes will compete both in performance and for buyers made me want to get a read of the room. Now, our enthusiast readers don’t always accurately represent the customer base at large, but, at the same time, their opinions tend to matter more to the Corvette Team and its future decisions than those of the “randos” who pick up ‘Vettes on a whim each year because they have some extra cash. But before getting to the question, let’s take a look at today’s combatants and then weigh the pros and cons of each:
Corvette ZR1
We’ve known about this one for about a year now; the C8 ZR1 is just your everyday, traditional rear-wheel-drive Corvette… with an astonishing 1,064 all-motor horsepower. In its 70 years of testing, the ZR1 is the fastest vehicle Car and Driver has ever seen with just two driven wheels. It’ll hit 60 in just 2.2 seconds and 100 in 4.5 seconds (about the same amount of time a C6 took to hit 60) on its way to a 9.5 second, 149 MPH quarter mile. And she isn’t just a sprinter, either. The ZR1, with its 1,200-pounds of downforce-capable ZTK track package, it’ll pull 1.13 g on the Skidpad and stop from 70 in just 140 feet. Put all of that capability together, and it can lap Virginia International Raceway 2.6 seconds quicker than the next fastest road car, the 1.2 million-dollar McLaren Senna, all for around $205,000, with options.
Corvette ZR1X
Now we’ve finally confirmed that as nutty as the ZR1 is, there’s, as the late, great Billy Mays always said, “more!” The newly revealed “X” package takes the ZR1 and marries it with the Corvette E-Ray’s trick self-contained electric front axle, which gifts the wild ZR1 with the safety net and traction of AWD, along with an additional 186 ponies for an ungodly total system output of 1,250 HP. When properly equipped, it is said to top out at the same 233 MPH as the original ZR1, but it’ll get off the line even quicker. Straight-line performance estimates include a sub-2 second sprint to 60 and the quarter in under 9, with an eerily similar 150 MPH trap speed (just before the front axle cuts out at 160). We should also know how both ZR1s compare on the world’s most challenging track by next week – IF GM lets us in on the secret right away [crossing fingers!].
Pros, Cons, and Behavior
Most of the known on-paper stuff falls in favor of the artist previously known as ZORA: The ZR1X will win A LOT of buyers simply by virtue of being the most powerful Corvette ever made. As impressive as 1,064 HP sounds, 1,250 is completely bonkers and is bound to seduce many would-be ZR1 customers. As the reveal slideshow laid out, it is truly the pinnacle of Corvette (and, really, all) performance – the zenith of American go-fast technology.
On the other hand, we’re guessing that the X will be some $30,000 more expensive than the OG, “purist” ZR1. The X also incorporates – and I apologize in advance for using such a dirty word on this family-friendly ‘Vette enthusiast site – hybrid technology, which, as any E-Ray owner can attest, is an instant turn-off to some and, at minimum, confusing to many others. This tech also has the “X” carrying an extra 200 pounds in front of its cockpit. That added mass lands it in the very un-sporty neighborhood of 4,100 lbs. But, really – and this is the most important thing for Corvette people to share with the uninitiated – the primary difference boils down to the unique way the two ZR1s will feel.
In talking with Chevrolet performance vehicles marketing manager Megan Dalley, Hagerty’s Grace Jarvis got to the heart of the matter: Chevrolet sees the ZR1X as “the AWD ZR1,” a sort of incremental upgrade for the most power-hungry customers. Indeed, [Megan] said that the target customer for ZR1X will be “very similar” to that of ZR1—the choice comes down to “how they want their vehicle to behave.” The difference between the two ZR1 models, she said, won’t be as significant as between the Stingray and E-Ray and Z06.
So, Which Would You Buy?
Now, with all of that in mind, we’ll throw it over to Corvette Nation. If you scored a ZR1 allocation, would you stick with the twin-turbo RWD model, or would you check the “X” box on the order guide to score the Xtra ponies, driven wheels, and bragging rights?
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Related:
[VIDEO] Watch the Reveal of the 2026 Corvette ZR1X from the Corvette Assembly Plant
Here is the Reason Why Chevy Didn’t Call the ZR1X the ZORA
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![[VIDEO] Florida C8 Corvette 'Super-Speeder' Arrested for Driving 130 MPH in a 45 MPH Zone](https://www.corvetteblogger.com/images/content/uploads/2026/07/072426_8-218x150.jpg "[VIDEO] Florida C8 Corvette ‘Super-Speeder’ Arrested for Driving 130 MPH in a 45 MPH Zone")
Not only am I ordering the “traditional” ZR1, I do not want ZTK. I might even go 1LZ.
I did not like the ZTK package in 19 and I do not like it now. Ironically, I am big fan of Z07 packages.
ZR1X. HTC. With the least amount of CF bits and areofoils possible. I would destyle it as much as possible to give it a softer appearance. I want a legitimate grand tourer. I would get an AWD LT7 powerplant (and reliability) with AMG SL63 styling–if I could.
In my design opinion, the Best Vette Yet – will be the AWD ZORA Corvette, ok ZR1x – with the base Convertible 1LZ, no carbon fiber stuff/wings/etc. anywhere, replace the front hood with a Stingray hood without the hole in same color, Red Mist Tinted Midcoat, remove all badges on the left/right sides and tell everybody that asks, the fenders were replaced with new tires and wheels. And never open the rear hatch in public viewing range.
Nobody would know it’s 1,250 horsepower.
A stealth version of the most powerful American Sports Car. a 2026 Corvette ZORA!
I’d just ,,, Take what i could get and be happy…..
I never have understood why folks spend money on bragging rights….how fast do you need to go and where?
If I’m going big, I’m going all the way. While I love the idea of the Z06, I would take the E-Ray first because the AWD lets you drive more throughout the year.
I rolled my C4 hitting a patch of ice, that wouldn’t have happened with AWD. 🤣
I need the stealth mode to exit my garage. My wife and neighbors complain every time I start my C8 Z06. 😂
Probably with the “X factor,” because the extra traction might help me stay alive.
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