Car Lust--Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1
When Chevrolet first showed off its "King of the Hill" Corvette, the giant-killing Corvette ZR-1, in the late 1980s I went completely slack-jawed. The C4 Corvette was the prettiest Corvette since the early 1970s, a world-class handler, and an excellent sports cars. It was already an object of my lust; but the ZR-1 took things to the next level.
General Motors had acquired Lotus in 1986, amid fears that GM would dilute the Lotus flavor. On the contrary, GM used Lotus' expertise to fortify the Corvette. With the ZR-1, Chevy tossed out the trusty but antediluvian pushrod, two-valve-per-cylinder L98 V-8 with something just a tiny bit less primitive. The replacement LT5 engine shared the basic dimensions of the three-decade-old Chevy small-block V-8, but featured modern technology in the form of four valves per cylinder and a four overhead cams. At the time, four-valve-per-cylinder DOHC engines were typically small four-cylinders that needed the technology to help offset their diminutive displacement. Only the most exotic six- and eight-cylinder engines could boast those upgrades. Combining the fierce top-end power of 32 valves and four overhead cams with the low-end grunt of a 5.7-liter V-8 yielded a legendary result--massive output, excellent tractability, and bulletproof refinement.
In an age where the standard Corvette generated between 240 to 280 horsepower, the ZR-1 weighed in at a dramatic 380 horsepower--a figure that would increase in subsequent years. The standard Corvette was a weapon potent enough to embarrass more expensive Porsches and Ferraris, but the ZR-1 was a suitcase nuke--incredibly powerful, relatively accessible and an instant threat to the traditional superpowers. The ZR-1 was so potent, in fact, that is came with a "valet key" that, when inserted, dramatically limited engine power to prevent unauthorized use of the ZR-1's full, violent powerband.
At around $70,000, the ZR-1 was expensive but still within the reach of the moderately wealthy, and it vastly undercut the Ferraris and Lamborghinis that formed its only real performance competition. The ZR-1 could do the 0-60 sprint in the low 4-second range and top out near 190 mph--performance no previous Corvette could match.
Even now, in a world where sports sedans accelerate like sports cars, the ZR-1's legacy is intact. With the benefit of nearly 20 years of experience and technology, only now has the regular Corvette begun to approach the ZR-1's performance. Even the new uber-Corvette, the unbelievable Corvette Z06, represents only a modest performance upgrade over the ZR-1. Now, of course, Chevy is on the verge of a new ZR1--note the lack of a hyphen--which will up the ante to an even greater degree.
The ZR-1's sole styling differentiator was a thicker waist and a convex rear fascia. It was a clean upgrade in muscularity, though some wanted more flash. Chevrolet, of course, then devalued the look by attaching it to all Corvettes. Chevy followed that up by introducing an incredibly ugly new front fascia that looked as if some 19-year-old had just purchased and installed the least expensive body kit possible.
The ZR-1 didn't sell that well. With few visual cues to set off the ZR-1, the typically flashy Corvette driver didn't gain much in terms of outward status by loafing around town in a ZR-1. And, of course, it was expensive. The LT5 was an incredibly expensive engine to produce--and it was assembled, bizarrely, by Mercury Marine.
The original ZR-1 Corvettes have now hit that magic age where they are currently only used cars, not yet classics. This means that if you search well and manage to find an unspoiled example, you can get an amazing performance bargain. Of course, since my budget is roughly $1,000, that doesn't help me much.
All three of these photos are from Flickr; the first from berndawg3, the second from redvette, and third, of the lovely LT5, from Mike Mertz.
--Chris H.
Brian on June 18, 2008 at 12:21 AM
Leave it to Chris to find a Corvette I can appreciate. Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of the 'vette, GM halo car, but for so many years it was just an inexplicably poor example of a sports car from a country that is obsessed with sports cars. The used car market for 'vettes is a little screwy, with total basket-cases going for thousands. Corvette styling is mostly obnoxious. Technological advancements take forever for GM. This one is different though, I saw one in town a few weeks ago and all I could do is stare at those freekin' 40 series tires and hope he doesn't want to drag race my Porsche. This car certainly makes a statement.
Rob the SVX guy on June 18, 2008 at 06:31 AM
I've always been a fan of ZR1s since the original Need For Speed on my old 3DO. C4 vettes in general, even the regular ones, are somewhat of a performance bargain right now. V8, IRS, tons of potential for 7-12 grand.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on June 18, 2008 at 12:51 PM
How can GM do so well with the Corvette (at least in this case), and yet suck so much on all their other cars?
Rob the SVX guy on June 18, 2008 at 03:59 PM
Probably the execs bean counters don't mind spending money on Vette development, because they know bragging rights actually matter. With a small car, they have the mentality that it's a POS from the beginning, so they don't put any effort into them. They're just profitable fluff to sell to people until they upgrade to a large SUV or Vette.
GM is fucked.
jim on June 18, 2008 at 05:54 PM
To the guy that said GM cars suck.
In the pre-Bob Lutz era that was somewhat true, but saying it now means that you are a fair bit behind the times. There are now more GM vehicles that are more exciting visually (cadillac cts, Solstice, Enclave) offer more performance per dollar (Pontiac G8 GT, Corvette) than the brands that you probably associate with the term 'desirable'.
In an age where Buick is tied with Lexus for quality, you would do well to ease up on the blanket statements.
seguin on June 18, 2008 at 06:59 PM
Well, there's no accounting for taste, Brian, but the Corvette was never a poor excuse for a sports car except from 1953-54. The 1970 LT-1 could not only outspeed but outhandle the Porsche 911 of the same year. If you had said "Thunderbird" or "Triumph Spitfire" I would have agreed with you.
As for technology, the small block is just an example of the brilliance of GM's engineering. Light wieght, compact, excellent power...the modern incarnation is a masterpiece of engineering, REAL engineering, over technical gimmickry. I don't believe that there has ever been a powerplant with the excellent power:weight ratio (the only ratio that really matters in a sports car motor) that the LS series delivers. All this claptrap about how sucky pushrods are hoodwinked by fancy acronyms.
As for Nathan - Toyota has 1.09 problems average in the first 100 days. Honda is 1.10. Ford and GM are nearly tied at 1.12 and 1.13. Statistically the difference in quality is next to nil. Go test drive a Malibu, you'll see what I mean.
Stephen Berlinsky on June 18, 2008 at 07:10 PM
Yeah poor old two valve 'dinosaur' technology. My Z06 is capable of nearly 200 mph, some skilled drivers have gone 10.9 in the quarter mile with a completely stock ZO6, and it got an actual 27+ mpg on a recent trip at 70-75 miles an hour. What a sorry old piece of crap(sound of rolling eyeballs).
Hucbald on June 18, 2008 at 07:27 PM
Hmmm... I'm fifty. Perhaps it's time for a midlife crisis car and a nineteen year old girlfriend.
Eusted on June 18, 2008 at 07:58 PM
My rich brother in-law bought a ZR-1 back when they came out. He let me drive it a few times. It was amazing. I actually got tire smoke at 95 getting into it. Ran it up to about 175 on two-lane Highway 22 in northwestern Tennessee. That's a dangerous ride.
Brian on June 18, 2008 at 09:26 PM
Jim,
Yep, for sure, what you said. I don't know what exactly is the source of my distaste for the 'vette, actually I like most of them. I like all of the 'vettes from the '50's through the '70's, though in the mid to late '70's the styling became a bit over-blown, but hell so did everything else, right? I really love the early 327 'vette engine, definitely the best push-rod engine Chevy ever made. But when the 80's arrived, that whole company went down the tubes, and took their (our) beloved 'vette with it. It took something like the ZR-1 to bring back something like the reputation GM once had.
Rob the SVX guy on June 19, 2008 at 06:30 AM
Sequin: RX7's boosted rotary engine= way more power to weight than any vette engine.
And sorry, GM is still total crap. The Aveo: Garbage. Cobalt? Garbage. The minivan? Garbage. The wagon? None. Pontiac G8? Great idea 5-10 years ago, will sell poorly with todays gas prices. SUVs? Failboat. The vette? Great piece of engineering. If they'd put 1/10th of the effort into a small or medium sized car, they might have something.
The real reason GM is screwed? Even if I they start making good cars (which they aren't), I wouldn't get one purely because the resale value is so horrid. I could spend 10 grand on a used honda, drive for 2 years, and lose 2 grand, or I could do the same thing in a chevy and lose 4-6 grand.
No thanks.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on June 19, 2008 at 08:20 AM
@Rob the SVX guy,
I second all of that.
And I'll add that GM *did* finally put a great deal of effort into the "ALL NEW 2008 Malibu", and despite all the effort, they only managed to make a car that was slightly above the average.
@seguin,
No one owns a car for just 100 days. You can almost bet GM designs cars to make it past that 100 days before starting to break down. GM cars don't make it to their 5th year with the same reliability of even Nissan, much less Toyota (better) or Honda (best).
Aside from reliability, GM's whole product line is inadequate and/or badly designed. They don't have a fuel-efficient SUV to compete with the RAV-4 and CRV. Pontiac's best vehicle (some say: *only* decent car) is a Toyota rebadge. The best car to come out of GM in a decade, the Cadillac that won Car of the Year or something, is so fugly in my opinion that I would never, ever, ever buy one under any circumstances. I drove a Cobalt rental while my car was in the shop: using the manual window crank literally scraped skin off of my knuckles because the handle was too close to the hard AND rough plastic door surface.
GM doesn't have a single car that would be on any list of cars I would want to buy new or used. And not one GM car has been on even my long list when I've looked at both new and used cars over the last 5 years. The closest was the Suzuki Verona (which had perfect reliability for 110 days before starting to have all sorts of quality problems, by the way).
Ian on June 19, 2008 at 08:52 AM
Nathan/Rob: I mostly agree, but I have to say that I really like the Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice. Granted, I haven't ever driven -- or even been in -- one, and I'd probably rather have a Miata if I were going that route, but it still looks like a neat car.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on June 19, 2008 at 09:12 AM
@Ian,
Yeah, actually Saturn may end up being GM's saving grace.
Rob the SVX guy on June 19, 2008 at 11:22 AM
The Solstice/Sky are good from far, but far from good. Go sit in one. The interior and general build quality is a joke. They have these weird little rubber fingers coming off from the windshield, to help seal the convertible top. Looks like something out of the 80s. The whole door panels are one cheap piece of plastic, and the holes in the door panels for the locks are just 'drilled' right through. There's no small piece of trim surrounding the door lock knob. Any other car company would have used a bit of trim. All these 'little things' really add up, IMHO, and if I'm going to have a crappy little roadster, I'd just pick up a Miata.
Ian on June 19, 2008 at 01:01 PM
Yeah, I'll definitely have to check one out in person. For some reason I'm not totally surprised that the build quality . . . leaves something to be desired. My bigger fear is that it looks like a hip roadster, but drives like a Saturn.
Noeal Sean on October 13, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Driver Education Online course is state and DMV-approved teaches you strategies for safe driving, defensive driving techniques and state specific rules and regulations that are necessary to qualify for your DMV Learners Permit.
Richard Austin on October 23, 2008 at 04:08 AM
Drivers Permit - offer Online Driver Education course that teaches strategies for safe driving but also contains state-specific rules and regulations that are necessary in order to qualify for your drivers permit. NDSS has been offering quality educational programs on the Internet since 1998.
Drivers Ed on February 01, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Hi,
Nice car. Young drivers need a fully comprehensive education before they pass their test not catch-up skills-based training after a crash. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks
Sofia.
newport driving schools on February 12, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Excellent!The beauty of the ZR1 is that it'll ride better than any of the competition on regular roads. It'll ride better than the Z06 while still being faster around a road course. I'll probably never own any of these cars, but I can still lust over them.I think the next gen ZR1 is supposed to have 700hp. I agree about how confusing the information on this car has been.
AlfaElan on April 03, 2009 at 08:30 AM
The '80s ZR-1 was a wonderful car, but the engine weighed and cost too much more than the stock engine for it to be a long term success. When the C5 Corvette was in design they decided to not try to fit the DOHC engine into it partly because it would have made the car larger and heavier.
It was built by Mercury Marine because Mercury Marine was also building the engine to be sold by them for use in boats. This increased the quantity, so the cost per unit was lower.
Today GM continues to use the pushrod V8 because it is good engineering. It is smaller and slightly lighter than BMW's straight 6, yet it is very efficient and due to it's lightness and some tranmission tricks it gets better mileage than most German luxury and sports cars, while putting out more horsepower and torque. With the addition of cylinder deactivations it does even better. Variable Valve timing is in the works too. So be careful what you call antediluvian.
Florida 12 Hour Traffic School on May 19, 2009 at 01:13 AM
Chevrolet have always a uniqueness in the style making of cars and this model Corvette ZR-1 is awesome. But the now a days the youngsters are facing a lot of accidents. Speed rocks always so need to take care of the safety driving first to become a owner of such a excellent model.