For whatever reason, Chevrolet decided against introducing the long-awaited 2018 Corvette ZR1 at the ongoing Detroit Auto Show perhaps to focus attention on the all-new Traverse.

Whatever the case may be, it is believed that Chevrolet is well on the way in completing the ZR1’s development cycle and resulted in a report from Car&Driver that it could debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona towards the end of January.

However, that idea has since been scrapped by the publication which claims to have received word from the Detroit show that we won’t see the new ZR1 until the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in August.

It is difficult to say why the American marque may opt for a motorsport event to unveil the new ZR1 rather than a major motor show (like New York) but if it does, it will perhaps signify just how track-focused the swansong to the C7-generation Corvette will be.

What we do know is that the Corvette ZR1 will hit the market for the 2018 model year and ditch the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 of the Z06. In its place will sit a twin-turbo LT5 V8 engine delivering in excess of 700 hp.

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