Chevy Engineer: Here’s Why The Corvette ZR1 Doesn’t Have Active Aero

The ZR1 equipped with the ZTK package produces 1,200 pounds of downforce.

Photo by: Chevrolet

Anthony Alaniz

By: Anthony Alaniz

Oct 10, 2024 at 1:06pm ET

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The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 can produce 1,200 pounds of downforce without active aerodynamics.
Corvette engineers couldn't find any performance benefits with an active aero system on the ZR1.
The optional ZTK package adds a massive rear wing, front dive planes, and a Gurney lip on the hood for maximum downforce.

The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is an American supercar that competes with its European contemporaries in a very old-school way. Unlike many high-end performance cars today, the ZR1 lacks active aerodynamics. Every canard, spoiler, and wing are fixed in place, and the Corvette can produce 1,200 pounds of downforce when equipped with the ZTK package.

Tadge Juechter, the Corvette’s former executive chief engineer, told GM Authority that the team couldn’t find any performance benefits with an active aero system, aside from looks.

“Almost every active aero system we have actually had the opportunity to test is there to make an aesthetic possible,” Juechter told GM Authority. “So when the active aero is deployed, it’s both lower drag and more downforce. So because it achieves both, why not just leave it deployed all the time? It’s not like trading one for the other.”

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The ZTK package, which is optional, adds a massive rear wing, front dive planes, and a Gurney lip on the hood. That helps keep the air flowing over the car, while Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires add grip, and stiffer springs tighten the handling.

That downforce figure is just one of the ZR1’s mind-boggling performance numbers. There's also the twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 engine, which makes 1,064 horsepower and 828 pound-feet of torque. It’ll do over 215 miles per hour and complete the quarter mile in less than 10 seconds. It’s also super light, weighing 3,670 pounds dry for the coupe.