Targets Acquired: New McLaren and Ferrari Hypercars Give the Corvette Zora Something to Shoot For

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

When we first caught the Corvette team benchmarking the strongest horse in the modern Ferrari stable, even us ‘Vette-homers thought they were being a little overly ambitious, but then the “unthinkable” happened. GM pulled the tarp off of the C8 ZR1 and not only did it handily outmuscle the $530,000 hybrid Italian, it did it without having to lean on electrification – it was all motor, baby! We had also been following a group of Corvette test mules that looked like ZR1s but showed the tell-tale signs of the E-Ray’s battery-powered front axle, and our brains immediately imagined what these so-called “Zora” prototypes could do with the 1,064-horse ZR1 as a baseline. By putting two and two together, we landed on a total output of 1,224 HP for the impending Zora, and, shockingly, that’s without GM even bothering to tinker with the already potent combination.

With the ZR1 already putting all of the world’s non-boutique supercars on notice, though, we were left wondering what the point of a Zora would even be. That “but why?” outlook persisted until Europe decided to significantly up its game over the past two weeks.

First, McLaren stepped up to the plate with a follow-up to its legendary F1 and P1, which was appropriately dubbed the W1 as a nod to the 50th anniversary of the firm’s first Formula 1 Constructor’s World Championship. The pre-sold – at two-million GBP-a-pop – batch of 399 W1s uses the corporate 4.0L twin-turbo V8 found in its lesser siblings, but in this top-shelf application, it is paired with an electric motor to make a grand total of 1,258 HP. Surrey is famous for building lightweight machines, and even when lugging around heavy batteries and an e-motor, the W1 stays true to its family values. It pairs its prodigious power with an estimated 3,300 lb. curb weight. As if that wasn’t enough, it is also capable of a pavement-crushing 2,205 lbs. of claimed maximum downforce.

Photo Credit: McLaren

The old adage that – we might have just thought up for the purpose of this writeup – “where there’s a new McLaren halo model, a Ferrari is likely to appear,” came true some ten days later when the Prancing Horse returned serve with a multi-million-dollar heritage play of its own. It’s called the F80, continuing the vaunted naming scheme the Italians left in limbo after the F40 and F50 gave way to the Enzo and LaFerrari starting in 2002. To your author’s uncultured mind, the F80 seems instantly less desirable than the W1 – or honestly the ZR1 – mainly because, like the “mainstream” 296 GTB, it relies on a boosted V6. In this case, the twin-snail 3-liter six-banger is supplemented by a trifecta of electric motors to the tune of 1,184 ponies. The newest top of the Ferrari spear will also be almost exactly twice as common on the street as the W1, with a planned run of 799 units. Even so, the Scuderia shield has built itself such a dedicated following that each one will be saddled with a significantly higher MSRP than its McLaren counterpart at $3.925 MM. All of that said, the F80 more than makes up for any perceived tangible shortcomings with a design worthy of its fabled lineage – to these eyes, it is stunning in a way that no McLaren has ever managed to be! It also succeeds in one-upping the Brits in downforce, with a massive stated 2,315 lbs. at 155 mph, while not falling too far behind in mass with an estimated weight of around 3,500 lbs.

Photo Credit: Ferrari

So, on top of niche stuff that you aren’t likely to ever see but is nonetheless deserving of a shoutout in this conversation – cars like the Bugatti Tourbillon and the McLaren F1’s true spiritual successor, the GMA T.50 – the impending Zora suddenly looks like it’ll have a fight on its hands, even if it has to go some 10x above its own MSRP to find a worthy sparring partner. With zero additional tuning, our Hyper-Vette already splits the difference between the two recently announced Euros, coming within 3% of the more potent W1’s final figure. So, it’s weight and downforce where it’ll really have to up its game if it wants a prayer of hanging with these exotics. The non-hybrid is already carrying several hundred more pounds of weight than either piece of unobtanium, and even the “big wing” ZTK package is about 1,000 lbs. shy of the peak downforce of the McLaren.

It’s going to take some extra work to get the Zora over the F80/W1 hump, but if we stop to think it all over again, does it really matter? If and when the Zora materializes, it is going to bring 95% of the absolute state-of-the-art experience to the table for high-end Porsche 911 money. That is absolutely unbelievable! We might have some well-documented issues and suggestions for the bottom of the Crossed Flags lineup, but what General Motors has pulled off at the top of the hierarchy is nothing short of gob smacking! The fact that the ZR1 left us feeling pretty underwhelmed by the dueling releases of a new F40 and P1 is a testament to the incredible work that Tadge, Josh, Tony, Harlan, and the rest of the best engineering team in the US has accomplished with the eighth-generation of America’s Favorite Sports Car!

Photo Credit: Ferrari

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