Chevrolet has officially unveiled the 2009 Corvette ZR1AC/a American supercar. It combines the engineering excellence of ceramics, carbon-fiber and electronics in an innovative design.
The Corvette is not a popular choice for this market, with sales of just over 1000 units in Europe in 2006. There are many other options, such as Aston Matins’s Maseratis, Porsches, Audi RS’s, Ferrari’s and Mercedes AMG’s. Corvette doesn’t inspire the same passion as painting Europe’s urban landscape. It’s actually quite a different reaction, as Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson demonstrated last year when he flew a helicopter gunship to the C6 Corvette. Why would that be? It could be a lack in credibility with American high performance cars, since only a few vehicles are capable of mixing it with their European or Japanese counterparts. Maybe it is America’s obsession with straight-line performance. Americans don’t seem to care about any of these factors. Their beloved Corvette represents the culmination motorsport excellence and fifty years of refinement. This latest pure-bred Corvette is the most anticipated, best Corvette yet.
The Corvette ZR-1 is the ultimate Corvette and will be available in 2008 as a 2009 model. The ZR-1 is a split-personality car with the primary objective of being a car that can be used on the road and yet still be a formidable track car. American performance cars have never lost sight of the principle that “there’s no substitute for displacement”. GM chose to use the same 430hp 6.2L LS3 V8 engine as the Z06’s 505hp 7.0-liter LS7. This supercharged the engine, increasing its output to 620hp (462 kW), and 595 lb.ft. (807 Nm). This sixth generation Corvette is now powered by the LS9 supercharged engine.
The ZR-1 is much more than a powerful new engine. The body is stuffed with lots of weight-saving, carbon fiber. There’s a raised, polycarbonate hood window that allows for a view of the intercooler, roof bow, roof bow and carbon-fiber roof panels. Rocker moldings have clear-coated, exposed, carbon-fiber weave. To accommodate larger wheels, the widened fenders have carbon fiber. The ZR-1 features carbon ceramic brake discs with painted blue pistons and 19×10 (front) or 20×12 (rear), exclusive wheels, and an automatically-adjusting Magnetic Selective Ride Control suspension.
Although performance figures are not yet available, GM has confirmed that the ZR-1 will reach speeds of over 200 mph and have a 220 mph speedometer. According to speculation, the ZR-1 will reach 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. The price is estimated at 100,000 USD.