This 1990 C4 Corvette ZR-1 Is Still an Accessible Collector Car… for Now

Before diving into what makes the Corvette so good as your usable American classic, we should take a look at how it came to be. The ‘Vette story begins in the early 1950s. Back in World War II, American soldiers stationed overseas fell in love with the nimble british roadsters. When they came back home, the American carmakers didn’t have anything like that in their lineups.

Seeing that, soldiers started importing them, and the big wigs at every car company in the States hated it. To combat that, Chevrolet released the Corvette, with a revolutionary fiber-glass body and European-inspired design. But it turned out really slow, with only 150 hp (152 ps) from a puny straight-six.

The car also had crummy handling characteristics – it felt like driving a water-bed. But, in 1955, the Corvette received some V8 options under the hood, and things were starting to take off for the Euro-American.

The following generations kept getting better and better. But that pesky crisis hit, and the C3 ‘Vette took a big hit in performance. We will skip that dark period, and fast-forward to the car in question today, the C4 iteration.

The C4 debuted in 1984, and it was the first complete redesign since 1963. It was a good car, but nothing extraordinary, and Chevy was starting to feel like the ‘Vette was losing its edge in front of the more exotic competitors. So, to fight back, in 1990, they came up with the best version of the C4 ever made – the ZR-1, a nameplate that stuck around to this day and still means serious performance.

Now, to see what makes the ZR-1 so good, we have a pristine, low-mileage one from 1990, so let’s dive right in. The fiberglass bodywork is finished in Bright Red, with a removable roof panel and the best invention to ever come on a car: pop-up headlights. The ZR-1 also comes with wider hips than the regular ol’ C4 and a convex rear fascia with square tail lights.

The outside is finished off by 17-inch aluminum wheels, with super-wide, 315 tires in the rear. Behind those wheels, you’ll find disk brakes on all four corners and Bilstein shock absorbers. Those shocks are connected to the Selective Ride and Handling package, which was tuned by Lotus.

Moving on to the inside, you’ll find a lot of Saddle leather. You can find it on the power-adjustable bucket seats, center console, and door cards. To contrast all of that tan color, the dashboard is finished in black. The steering wheel is wrapped in black leather too, and fronts what I think to be the coolest instrument panel ever fitted to a car. It’s digital and it has the most 1980s aesthetic ever.

Now, it’s time we get to the engine hiding under that long hood. The normal C4 Corvette came with the L83 350 ci (5.7-liter) V8, which was later updated to the L98, and that came with tuned port injection and 230 hp (233 ps). It wasn’t bad, but not that powerful either. So, to combat the lackluster power, the ZR-1 came with an outstanding engine called the LT5.

Back in 1986, GM had a little too much fun shopping and bought Lotus. The British manufacturer was the one who developed the LT5, using its experience in building V8s in cars like the Esprit. The result was an all-aluminum, 5.7-liter (350 ci) V8 churning out a massive 375 hp (380 ps), and later, for the 1993 to 1995 model years, power was pumped up to 405 ponies (411 ps)

This monster of an engine rocketed the C4 to a 4.5-second sprint to 60 mph (97 kph) and a top speed of 180 mph (290 kph) – this is really fast today, let alone in the early nineties. All of that oomph is sent to the rear wheels via a ZF six-speed manual transmission.

Circling back to the beginning of this article. I said that the C4 Corvette is one of the best American classics you can buy. It has more than enough power, it’s reliable, you can easily upgrade it and it’s relatively cheap, both to buy and to maintain. This last part might not be the case for this ZR-1, but I still think it’s a great investment. And, if you want a normal C4, you can find them all day long for 10-20 thousand dollars in good condition.

But, if you have deeper pockets and want a special C4, this ZR-1 is up at auction, and it currently sits at 30,000 dollars – which is still pretty affordable for this status and performance. The car also comes with only 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) on the digital odometer, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Florida title.