That looks fast.
It is. Very fast. This is the C7 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, to give it its full name. And just like all of the three ZR1s that have preceded it, this car is the ultimate ‘Vette in the range. The fastest, nastiest version you can buy. In a range that already offers you more than 450bhp and 200mph from the base car, the ZR1 is not just a bit quicker. It’s a disappearing speck in the distance.
Does the ZR1 have an internal nickname?
Oh yes. GM’s top product exec, Mark Reuss, who famously – and unexpectedly – christened the more lowly Z06 version ‘The Big Nasty’ when that car debuted has branded the ZR1 as ‘Fury’. Not because of its violent anger, which the car has in spades, but because of, Reuss says, the way the ZR1 infers ‘a spirit of punishment on the competition’.
Talking of which, what is the competition for the ZR1?
Frankly, there isn’t any at this price. The ZR1 will, with every option box ticked, set you back under $150k. That gets you 755bhp, 212mph, a 10.2 sec quarter mile, 0-60mph in 2.85secs and 0-100mph in 6 seconds. The McLaren 720S offers very similar numbers, but for roughly twice the price.
But I bet it doesn’t handle like a McLaren…
You might lose your money with talk like that. The ZR1 is categorically not just a straight-line missile. Proof? When the Chevy development team took a ZR1 mule to Virginia International Raceway to do an endurance test on a final part (the initial spec exhaust x-pipe couldn’t handle the ZR1’s extra power and, yes, fury) they broke the lap record set by the Ford GT, possibly the best handling car on sale today, by more than a second…
What’s behind all this extra performance?
The key difference is the new LT5 V8 engine. Apart from being an altogether physically bigger unit in every direction compared with the Z06’s relatively dainty LT4, it also features twin fuel injectors and a 50 per cent bigger supercharger. When you look at its power curve compared with the Z06, it’s pretty similar up to 4,000rpm, but then the ZR1’s secondary injectors cut in and its power trace Saturn 5s all the way to the summit at 6,400rpm. It makes 105bhp and 65lb ft more than the Z06. And, perhaps more importantly, it emits large, blue flames from the exhausts when on full throttle.
What has Chevy done to tame all this extra power?
The company has given the ZR1 two levels of aero package. Both feature a C7R racecar upside down wing at the front instead of a belly pan. But the optional more aggressive ZTK aero package also buys you a huge, adjustable rear wing. This adds around 430kg of downforce across the car at its top speed. While that’s less than half of the Viper ACR-X, if you have even half an idea of taking your ZR1 to the track, you need to have this.
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