The
racy new Corvette ZR1 propels ‘America’s Sports Car’ into a
whole new league.
By Jim Gorzelany
One of the
most-anticipated sports cars in recent memory, the
new-for-2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, takes “America’s Sports
Car” to stratospheric levels of performance. It also takes the
venerable Vette beyond the six-figure barrier for the first
time in its 55-year history. The price is a staggering
$102,450.
“The ZR1 brings Corvette into the exotic car category
in terms of performance and provides a ‘halo car’ for both
line and the brand,” says George Peterson, president of
AutoPacific Group, a Tustin, Calif.-based research firm.
“It takes Corvette out of the ‘Joe Lunchbucket’ category and
into a more sophisticated market
segment.”
The Corvette’s new top model represents the second
coming of the original ZR1, nicknamed “King of the Hill,”
which was sold from 1990 through 1995. That version was
essentially an option package – nicknamed “ZR1,” of course –
which added more than $27,000 to the cost of an otherwise
$32,000 car. It packed a 375-horsepower aluminum-block V8
engine that was built by Mercury Marine (it saw duty on the
water as well as the road) and recorded what was at the time a
blazing a 4.9-second 0-60 mph
time.
Fast forward to 2009 and marvel at what less than two
decades of automotive advancements have wrought. The 2009
ZR1’s new engine, a hand-built “LS9” 6.2-liter supercharged
small-block V8, produces a breathtaking 638 horsepower – 70
percent more powerful than the original iteration. Chevy
claims the car can reach 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds (thanks to
a six-speed manual gearbox that drives the rear wheels) and
reach an outrageously illegal top speed of 205 mph.
The ZR1 is priced more than $30,000 higher than the
next most-expensive Corvette, the 500-horsepower Z06, and
costs in excess of $55,000 more than the still-speedy base
car. Nonetheless, industry observers insist it remains true to
the Corvette’s heritage as an “affordable” sports car. With
the ZR1, the frame of reference has been, as Emeril would say,
kicked up a notch.
The new model “reinforces the
‘performance-to-price’ value status that Corvette
traditionally holds versus its comparably performing
competitors,” argues Leo Parente, a New York-based automotive
industry consultant. “Only in the ZR1’s case it stands up
against significantly more expensive Ferraris and
Lamborghinis.”
On the outside, the ZR-1 has seen only minor styling
tweaks to differentiate it from the rest of the Corvette line.
The most significant changes lie beneath the two-seat coupe’s
fiberglass bodywork.
The ZR1 is built on a lightweight
aluminum-intensive chassis and comes with specific suspension
tuning that affords quicker handling than either the base car
or the Z06 version can manage. A sophisticated Magnetic
Selective Ride Control system is standard. It governs wheel
and body motion via “magneto-rheological” fluid in each of the
car’s shock absorbers – this is oil that’s infused with lots
of tiny metal balls, the viscosity of which (and, in turn, the
resiliency of the shocks) is affected by a magnetic current.
A choice of driver-selectable settings includes
an ultra-stiff track-level mode that’s engineered exclusively
for cornering. Unfortunately, the added grip comes at the
expense of a brutally rough ride. Fortunately, the system’s
other operating modes are able to better handle pavement
imperfections and make the car fairly well mannered for
everyday use.
Upgraded brakes include Brembo carbon-ceramic
rotors for secure stopping power, and the car rides on wider
Michelin Pilot Sport tires with 19-inch 20-spoke wheels up
front and 20-inch wheels and tires at the
rear.
Though the Corvette ZR1 is subject to the federal
gas-guzzler tax, its fuel economy handily beats many lumbering
SUVs. At least in grandmotherly-polite driving, the EPA rates
the ZR1 at an estimated 14 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the
highway.
Despite carrying a six-figure sticker price, the ZR1 is
built with an emphasis on sheer performance over luxury.
However, buyers who simply cannot do without certain
conveniences can specify a $10,000 option package that
includes amenities one might otherwise expect of a car in this
price range, such as power leather seats, side-impact airbags,
a Bose audio array, a navigation system and a Bluetooth
hands-free cell-phone interface.
And if this all runs counter to the rapidly evolving
conventional wisdom in the auto business that smaller and less
powerful is better, perhaps that’s exactly the point. “A
fundamental Corvette tradition has always been ‘breaking
the mold’ on what a high-performance car should be,”
Parente says. “The ZR1 reinforces this with leadership in
technology, design and
execution.”
©
CTW Features
Edited by PowerDrive
Magazine
