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2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 or ZL-1?

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2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 or ZL-1?

GM has ruled out Blue Devil, SS, and Sting Ray as names for the supercharged Corvette due next year.

BY ALISA PRIDDLE, Car and Driver

There is not much left to the imagination in these latest spy shots of the supercharged Corvette that will finally make its official debut in January at the North American International Auto Show.

Really, what we’re waiting for is confirmation of details on the monster engine shoved under that hood, and relief from this name game we’ve all been playing in anticipation of the car.

The latest consensus is ZR-1, and while it still is not official, we can at least categorically rule out a couple of contenders following an interview with General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz at the Frankfurt auto show.

It is not Blue Devil, the internal moniker that pays homage to the Duke University basketball team, CEO Rick Wagoner’s alma mater. In addition to the name being a bit of an inside joke, people would expect the car to be blue, Lutz tells Car and Driver. “We won’t do a blue Corvette.” (We assume he is referring just to the ZR-1 here, as there are other blue Corvettes on the road now.)

Nor will it be called SS (thankfully), as the letters are not a good designation in parts of Europe.

And Lutz rules out Sting Ray, noting it was such a “beautiful, unique car” that the pending Corvette would need its own body style to be worthy of the name, and that will not be the case. This baby is essentially a Z06, but looks to be lighter with what appears to be liberal use of carbon fiber in the A- and B-pillars and roof, perhaps rocker and other body panels, not to mention a polycarbonate “window” in the hood. “We won’t use Sting Ray for a Corvette that looks like any other Corvette,” Lutz says.

That pretty much leaves Z07, ZR-1, and ZL-1. In August, Car and Driver Editor-in-Chief Csaba Csere suggested to top GM officials Lutz, Rick Wagoner, and Mark LaNeve that ZL-1 would be the most compelling designation. Chatter coming out of GM suggests ZR-1 or ZL-1 as the likely name.

Regardless of what it is called, demand is building for the car. People want it, Lutz tells us, and they don’t ask about cost or fuel economy. “In addition to the environment-oriented market, there still is a huge market for people who want automobiles that go very fast and will pay for it.”

The speed meets the approval of the jet-setting Lutz who describes recent stints driving prototypes as a “truly remarkable experience.”

Our long-held contention is the car is packing a 650-hp supercharged 6.2-liter, small-block V-8. GM’s new LS9 will utilize an integrated intake manifold intercooler, and is expected to run a 0-to-60 dash in less than 3.4 seconds.

The 6.2-liter V-8 will be built at GM's Performance Center in Wixom, Michigan, starting next July, and the spy photographer reports a mean and angry exhaust note.

To handle speeds expected in the 200 mph range, a wider, taller, lip spoiler has been added to the back of this Corvette. The spoiler now runs almost the entire length of the car to increase downforce and keep those massive tires glued to the road.

This spied test car is riding on Michelin Pilot Sport ZP tires, seemingly confirming rumors of a switch from Goodyears. The rear tires appear to be a whopping 335/25Z/20 size. A quick look inside the tires also reveals a huge set of cross-drilled rotors and an equally large set of calipers in what appears to be a carbon-ceramic brake set-up.

GM likely will build less than 2000 of these devils, so if you want one, make nice with your dealer now and renegotiate your mortgage. We expect the price tag for the new 2009 ZR-1 to be in the $100,000 range.
 

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