Chevrolet has been testing the ZR1 for some time now, both in the U.S. and in places such as the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The most recent of spy pics suggest that the golden bowtie is almost ready with development. And so does a prototype strapped inside a Boeing 747 bound for Europe.
Sent in by a reader of Automobile Magazine, the pictured vehicle features the directional exhaust setup we’ve seen a couple of times already. Designed to limit the sound of the monster hiding under the bulging hood to acceptable levels, the exhaust system in question won’t make it to production. Alas, it is unlikely this particular ZR1 serves as a show car.
Rumored to be shown in all its glory at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Corvette ZR1 is nowhere to be seen in production-ready form. Bearing in mind that the race beings today at 3:00 PM local time, the golden bowtie should’ve presented the most extreme variant of the seventh-generation Corvette by now. Given these circumstances, we can’t do anything but kick back, enjoy the race, and wait for Chevrolet to give us the heads up.
There’s also talk of a blistering lap of the Nurburgring, but Chevrolet has yet to slip anything about this matter. A more aerodynamically-conscious bruiser than the Z06 with the Z07 Package, the Corvette ZR1 is made to thrill on the track both on the straights and in the corners. The business end of the big bad ‘Vette is a supercharged V8 derived from the LT4.
Known as the LT5 in the General Motors RPO system, the 6.2-liter engine features direct injection, variable valve timing, and an aluminum block. Expected to develop nigh on 700 horsepower and rear tire-shredding torque, it’s sensible to assume that the LT5 V8 features a bigger blower than the 1.7-liter system that transforms the N/A LT1 into the S/C LT4.
While we wait patiently for the ZR1's secrets to be cleared up, here’s a selection of videos featuring the upcoming model doing its thing.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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