Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 90 ZR-1 In 1986 Chevy hinted at a special performance package to be built, to be known as the ZR-1. GM approached Lotus about building what would be, at the time, the worlds fastest production car. Together they built and developed an aluminium block V8 with quad cams producing 375hp (280kW). 90 ZR-1 interior This engine was bolted to a special Corvette which had a 3" wider tail section to accomodate larger rear rims. The rims, which looked exactly the same as the standard Corvette, measured 17x11", as compared to 9.5 for the standard Corvette. 90 ZR-1 quad cam 375hp motor However, the new supercar was not cheap. The basic coupe was listed in 1990 as US 31,979, and a ZR-1 package was $27,016 more. With taxes and several options, many people paid around $65,000 for their car. But it held its expectations. In 1990, it became the worlds fastest production car, running at just below 180 mph (290 kph). I have seen several results of top speed runs for standard cars, and indeed with the right conditions, 180 mph has been reached with a stock car. 1/4 mile time was offically listed as 13.4 seconds, but some people have managed to break into the 12 second barrier with the optimum conditions at the race track, on street tyres. In 1990, 3049 ZR-1s were made. In 1991, the rims were updated, along with several other minor changes. In this year, they sold 2044. However in the next 4 years, not even the combined amount of cars were produced in 1991. 1992 yieled 502 cars, while 93-95 each yielded 448 cars. Production for the ZR-1 was ceased in 1995, with a total of 6,939 ZR-1s made. 91 ZR-1 In 1993, the engine received a power boost from 375 hp to 405 hp (302kW). The cylinder head and valvetrain were modified, as several changed to the electrical and exhaust system were made to accomodate new emission controlds. The price for the ZR-1 was now $31,258 over standard. By now, the popularity of the "King of the Hill" was on the decline. The performance option virtually doubled the price, and by 1993, the stock Corvette had a improved small block, which lessened the performance advantage over the ZR-1. Of course, the stock ZR-1s didn't have quad cams however, they still had duel cam motors. 92 ZR-1 By 1995, production was finished, and the ZR-1 will go down as one of the fastest, and best, Corvette's of all time. 94 ZR-1 These days, prices for the ZR-1 are still quite high. The price guide, copied from here (http://www.zr1.net/ZR1_prices.html) shows (in USD); Year FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT 1990 $17,950 $24,250 $33,950 1991 $19,000 $25,000 $34,500 1992 $20,475 $26,250 $35,700 1993 $25,600 $32,000 $42,875 1994 $27,000 $33,000 $43,550 1995 $30,650 $36,500 $47,450 Excellent Condition cars are usually considered pure stock in perfect condition with under 10,000 miles on the speedo. There is at least one right hand drive ZR-1 in Australia. Find Out More ZR-1.net (http://www.zr1.net) ZR-1 Corvette Forums (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zeroforum?id=50) Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

nice

Some U.S. owners took their ZR1s to drag races and won against some pretty powerful cars. Best late Corvette was the Callaway 'Sledgehammer' BTW: A ZR1 was for sale recently in Sydney

I am going to do a write up on the Sledgehammer later.

You learn something new everyday! Nice.