ZR1 and Z06? More C8 Mules Spied, One with a Unique Center Exhaust

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The flat-plane-crank Z06 is alive and well, my friends, but is this other C8 mule actually our first glimpse of a C8 ZR1?

What a crazy day for Corvette fandom. Not only did we get spy shots of the new Z06 on track sporting a crazy big wang, but Autoweek managing editor, Robin Warner, and Michigan resident, Randy Hermann, happened upon not one, not two, but three Z06 mules earlier today along with regular C8s, a Ferarri 488, and a Porsche GT2RS. And much like the controversial wing, the lead mule was sporting a something we haven’t seen before — a quad exhaust with two large center pipes and two smaller outer pipes.

We’ll get to mules two and three in a moment, but the lead mule sounded different to Warner. He says he “heard what sounded like a turbo V6.” Here’s the full video:

What do you think? Turbo V6 or Turbo V8? Because AutoEvolution believes that lead mule is actually our first glimpse at the C8 generation Corvette ZR1, which may feature the “LT7,” a twin-turbo DOHC (possibly flat-plane-crank) engine. Me? I’m less certain. It could be, of course, but GM could simply be testing out exhaust variations for the Z06.

Then again, when you hear mules two and three, they sound a lot different than the lead mule. Not only do they sport an exhaust outer-only setup that’s similar to the base C8 and the spy photos uncovered today, but they sound much more like the C8.R and other spy videos of the Z06. In other words, you can hear that high-revving 5.5L DOHC flat-plane crank engine spooling up as they take off. (By the way, this engine might be named the LT6.)

Hear the difference?

Me too. And the lead mule definitely accelerates slowly to purposely hide whatever’s hiding in its engine bay. What do you think, dear reader? Have we at long last heard the ZR1? Is it just a Z06 variation? Something else? Let us know HERE in the forums!