Hennessey Builds the C7 Corvette ZR1 to Over 1000 Horsepower

Now that the engine computer system of the new LT5 has been unlocked, we will see lots of Corvette ZR1s making monster power.

The C7 Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful road-going car that Chevrolet has ever offered, with the supercharged LT5 producing 755 horsepower and 715 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers make the new ZR1 the third-most-powerful American production road car ever, trailing only the 2018 Challenger Demon and the 2019 Challenger Hellcat Redeye, but until recently, the newest supercharged Corvette wasn’t being modified for big power like the competition.

That has all changed with the now-unlocked engine computer system of the new LT5 and the folks at Hennessey have put together a great video showcasing one of their upgrade packages in action on a new ZR1 on the dyno.

Unlocking the LT5
Although the C7 Corvette ZR1 has been available to the public for over a year now, we are just now starting to hear about shops pulling big power from the new LT5. That is because LT5 uses a new coding system that has prevented tuners from altering the engine parameters, but now that the code has been cracked, we are seeing more and more shops offering C7 ZR1 tuning.

Hennessey is just one of the shops to offer tuning for the new Corvette ZR1, but they put together great videos of their products in action, which is why we are showcasing this particular Chevy supercar.

HPE1000
The HPE1000 package starts on the inside of the LT5 engine, where Hennessey adds a new camshaft, upgraded valve springs, upgraded valves, upgraded pushrods and ported cylinder heads. On the outside of the engine, a high-flow air induction system, long tube headers, custom midpipes, high flow catalytic convertor and a new lower pulley work with the internal upgrades and a custom engine tune to lift the output by a considerable margin.

In stock form, the C7 Corvette ZR1 makes 755 horsepower and 715 lb-ft of torque, but with the HPE1000 package, the output is lifted to 1,000 horsepower and 966 lb-ft of torque. More importantly, on a dyno, a new ZR1 with the HPE1000 package makes 905 horsepower and 844 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels. In the video below, we also get a look at the stock power graph, which shows 654 horsepower and 645 lb-ft of torque, so on the rollers, the HPE1000 package adds around 250 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque.

The shop claims that a new Corvette ZR1 with the HPE1000 package, an “upgraded” automatic transmission and a good set of drag radial tires can dash from a stop to 60 miles per hour in just 2.3 seconds while covering the quarter mile in 9.4 seconds at 147 miles per hour.

Unfortunately, we don’t know how much the Hennessey HPE1000 package for the Corvette ZR1 costs, but considering the amount of engine work included, we would bet that it is not cheap.