Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Just like the devil on wheels

Rob

Site Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
Sep 16, 2000
Messages
13,917
Location
New Hampshire
Corvette
1990 Corvette ZR-1
Just like the devil on wheels

By KEN GIBSON
Motoring Editor
The Sun - London,UK

THINK of American cars and it’s a fair bet Corvette and Cadillac will figure high on any list.

They are icon brands from the glory days when American cars ruled the roads, at least in the USA.

In the UK they’ve always been just bit-part players for drivers who have a love affair with the US.

This week we’ve tested a very special Corvette supercar and, on the left, the latest Cadillacs aimed specifically at cracking the European market.

Americans love a hero and the Corvette has been the Stars And Stripes’ motoring hero for 55 years. If Steve McQueen had been a car he’d have been a Corvette.

And the new ZR1 would have been the perfect wheels for car-crazy McQueen, a man who liked to drive on the edge.

Even by supercar standards the ZR1 is something special — 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds, 0-100mph takes just seven seconds and the top speed is 205mph.

This year Corvette sales will hit 1.5million, a phenomenal figure for a high performance car, and the new special edition ZR1 puts Corvette into the supercar elite alongside the fastest Ferraris.

If you like your supercar with serious attitude, the ZR1 has it in spades. This is a beast of a machine that oozes testosterone from every inch of its muscular body.

It’s an unapologetic supercar that flaunts its power with a wonderfully aggressive design and a thunderous sound from under the bonnet and the double-twin exhaust that could wake the dead.

And yet, behind the macho exterior, the ZR1 is a Jekyll and Hyde car, quite capable of being driven sedately at low speeds in traffic, but let it loose on the open road and it turns into the devil on wheels.

The standard Corvette has always been a seriously underrated car but there is no chance of anyone under-estimating the ZR1. Just one look tells you it is not a motor to be messed with. It’s a car that will intimidate if you see it in your rear view mirror and frighten you if you see it alongside, not that it will stay there for long.

One area that doesn’t excel is the interior. It’s sporty and comfortable but lacks the quality of a European supercar.

The ZR1 is a tribute to race car technology from Corvette’s Le Mans racer, its chassis is made of lightweight aluminium and magnesium, and many of the body panels, including the bonnet, roof and front bumper, are made from carbon fibre.

Agility

Aerodynamic spoilers are also sprinkled around the ’Vette to keep it stable at the serious speeds it is capable of, together with a sophisticated active damper system that gives it remarkable agility and road holding for such a big car.

The performance also demands a serious set of brakes and the ZR1 gets race-tuned carbon ceramic brakes that stop you on a sixpence.

But dispense with all the technology and the ZR1 is all about power and that comes from a 6.2litre V8 with a supercharger that pumps out a monster 638bhp. I also liked the Ferrari touch of showing a flash of the engine through a polycarbonate window in the bonnet.

Sadly, as American cops enforce their low speed limits as vigilantly as Gordon Brown rips off UK motorists, there was no chance of really opening up the ’Vette on the road — I would have been breaking the law most of the time even in first gear.

Fortunately, Corvette gave us access to a track where we could test the ZR1 nearer to its limits but, in truth, I never hit them. My bottle ran out way before the car.

I can tell you it accelerates like a jet on take-off and corners with astonishing grip to fully justify its place among the great supercars of this era.

There is one other thing about the ZR1 that will make you blink. You might expect a £100,000 price tag but in fact the standard model is just over £60,000.

In fairness, it is well priced compared with the opposition and it’s going to be even more exclusive — only four or five are expected to come to the UK.

So buyers will get the keys to an all American superstar.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom