GM had the LT5 and its hulking 2.65L blower on a stand next to the current Z06’s LT4 in the media room. The engine is 50 percent bigger, physically, than the LT4. It is absolutely absurd, and you cannot believe it fits under a Corvette’s hood. Well, it most certainly doesn’t. And the ZR1 doesn’t even have a hood; it’s more of a Carbon Fiber apron, which sort of surrounds the lower half of the engine.
Holy mother. 8.17 seconds????So that’s what the ZR1 is, now let me tell you what it can do, in the hands of a GM Performance driver: 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, quarter mile in 10.1 seconds at 134 mph, standing mile at 190 mph with the wing removed, top speed 214 mph with the low downforce package, and from 214 mph, it can come to a dead stop in 8.17 seconds. It ran, in completely stock trim, at full clip for 24 hours straight at Virginia International Raceway, stopping only to change fuel and tires, and in the process (middle of the run) accidentally set a production car lap record, 1.37 seconds quicker than the Ford GT did at the same track barely a week before.
I respect them a lot more than Ford when it comes to marketing stunts. Ford would have been like "production is limited to 750" and watch people pay out the ass for ADMs when they could easily make more. This says GM supply will meet demand, which is how it should be.The 2019 Corvette ZR1 is arriving in dealerships this spring. Although production will not be limited, GM expects to make only 2,000-3,000 copies.
oops... LOLOLaccidentally set a production car lap record, 1.37 seconds quicker than the Ford GT
So how is the ZR1 without the nannies? As it happens, the Corvette development team hired Motor Trend’s resident pro racer, Randy Pobst, for his input on the ZR1 prior to the media drive. He shared some of his traction-off observations with us, including how the rear tires struggle for grip under power—a common gripe he’s had with the C7 Corvette. “It’s little funky, especially through the slower and sharper turns,” he noted. Without the safety net of PTM, one must really resist the urge to get into the throttle too soon and too aggressively, whether exiting a corner or speeding in a straight line.
Pobst was a fan of the automatic’s quick and smooth shifts and said it seemed more settled than the manual-equipped car. He gave high marks to the ZR1’s magnetorheological damper calibrations, which seemed much more compliant than those in the Z06 (with Z07 performance package).
“The best corners for the ZR1 were the fastest ones, showing the effectiveness of the considerable downforce,” Pobst noted. “And great brakes. Chevy really knows how to do brakes.”