Corvette History

The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car first manufactured by Chevrolet in 1953 and is built today exclusively at a General Motors assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was the first all-American sports car built by an American car manufacturer. The National Corvette Museum is also located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  

The car is widely regarded as a “poor man’s supercar”, although this description is intended to be complimentary. Corvettes have a long history of melding exceptional handling and brutal amounts of engine power into an affordable package that is drastically less expensive than prestiguous marques with similar abilities. This has understandably led to some scorn of the Corvette by owners of such competing marques, with most of the criticism being aimed at the Corvette’s level of refinement. Older generations of the Corvette have been criticized for being brutish when compared to European sports cars, although the C5 and C6 generations seem to have silenced all but the most strident of such critics.

Corvettes tend to emphasize simplicity over technical complexity when it comes to engine power. Where nearly all competing marques rely on smaller-displacement engines with complex, double overhead cams (DOHC), variable valve timing (VVT), four- and five-valve heads, or turbochargers, the Corvette makes just as much or better power using a simple overhead valve (OHV) head with only two pushrod-actuated valves per cylinder, coupled with a larger-displacement engine. The relatively simple pushrod V8 engine is both lighter and physically smaller than the more complex arrangements, as well as cheaper to manufacture. This lack of sophistication is sometimes viewed as a negative by extreme automotive purists, and has fueled the aforementioned “lack of refinement” argument. Regardless of the validity of such criticism, no one can deny the power, efficiency, and affordability of the design.

Performance

A stunning new benchmark in Corvette performance with its 638 horsepower LS9 supercharged V8, ZR1 is capable of 205 mph on the test track.  6.2Liter V8 with Eaton TVS Supercharger and intercooler produces 604 ib-ft of torque.  Massive Brembo Carbon Ceramic Brakes.

Exterior

Visible carbon-fiber roof, roof bow, rocker extensions and front air splitter Carbon-fiber domed hood with a window to the supercharger.  Unique carbon fiber dual cove front fenders. 19-inch front/20-inch rear, 20-spoke wheels on Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires.

Interior

Boost gauge in cluster and Head-Up Display Custom leather-wrapped interior included in 4LZ package.

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