Jay Leno Gets the Scoop on the Corvette ZR1 From Mark Reuss

The road between the birth of the Corvette in 1953 and the newly announced eighth-generation Corvette ZR1 is filled with the twists and turns that only 72 years of production and several clean-sheet redesigns can provide. General Motors President Mark Reuss is fortunate to have been close to some of the Corvette’s evolution during his father Lloyd’s tenure at GM, and then to have played a role in it himself. He paid a visit to Jay Leno to share a little bit of history as well as talk about the new flagship Corvette.

The pair chatted alongside two power-packed Corvettes: a 1967 convertible motivated by a 427, and a 2025 ZR1. Reuss’ Corvette roots run pretty deep—the white second-generation car belonged to his dad. The big block is backed by a Powerglide two-speed automatic, an unusual choice but one that hearkens back to the elder Reuss’ time as a Powerglide engineer.

During the visit, Reuss shared details about the ZR1 itself but also shared some cool facts about the C8’s development, including how the team used a Holden Ute body on a development mule to camouflage the mid-engine chassis. He also proudly shared how the mid-engine design solved packaging problems, enabled more drivetrain variants, and allowed engineers to more easily incorporate turbochargers.

Among the tech and features the two discussed was the charge cooler located where the “frunk” is in other Corvette models. Cooler air is better as far as maximizing turbo efficiency and horsepower is concerned, so to that end, the ZR1 employs a water-to-air charge cooler.

Air comes in through the front grille, passes through the charge cooler, and exhausts through a vent in the hood. This serves the dual purposes of maximizing the engine’s efficiency and reducing front-end lift—something second-generation cars like the white 427 were prone to at higher speeds.

Unfortunately, this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage was filmed before the ZR1 was able to be seen in public, which means Jay didn’t get to drive it and let us know his thoughts. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait long to hear Jay’s thoughts about the ZR1, and maybe get behind the wheel ourselves. For now, though, we’ll enjoy this ZR1 and its older compatriot from afar.