The upcoming 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is going to be an absolute beast, with a twin-turbo 5.5L V8 pushing out a whopping 1,064 horsepower. Just a decade ago, that kind of power was reserved for seven-figure hypercars. But these days, it’s more accessible than ever—even if the ZR1 is expected to cost around $180,000.
For less than half the price—a lot less, actually—you can drive down to your local Chevy dealer and pluck a base model C8 Stingray off the lot with nearly 500 hp, while the hybrid E-Ray and track-ready Z06 make 650 and 670 hp respectively. These are impressive numbers in any context. But when the floor is that high, we’ve been wondering: if hopping into a 490-hp sports car is a kick in the pants for most average drivers, how much does the jump to nearly 700 hp really matter?
You can think about it like any other technology. For example, the jump in video quality from VHS tapes to DVDs felt massive. But from Blu-Rays to 4K streaming? Less so. There are limits to the improvements most people can perceive. Certainly there are plenty of experienced drivers who can appreciate the gap between a Corvette Stingray and a Z06. When you’re talking about the average buyer, though, it’s arguable that 490 hp is already so much car that there are diminishing returns on the extra $50,000 you’d need to step up from the base model to the Z06.
To put this idea to the test in this week’s YouTube video, we sent our resident track rat and YouTube producer Joey Rassool to the NCM Motorsports Park at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky to drive the full Corvette lineup. Joey is an experienced amateur racer—but his normal track car is a sub-200-hp Toyota Yaris, so he’s a great control for this experiment. And the Corvette is a logical choice as a model, because the whole reason GM went mid-engine with the C8 was to keep upping the power and wring out even more performance than it could get from a front-engine platform.
Of course, there are numerous changes between the trims beyond horsepower: the E-Ray is an all-wheel-drive hybrid, and the Z06 comes with a bunch of extra performance parts. But power is the headline number for many with these cars, and that’s what we’re focusing on. So can a regular Joe really tell the difference? Watch and enjoy.
Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com