1990 ZR-1 Speed Record: Aver 24-Hour 174.885-MPH! – 2 VIDEO
Race-prepared, Stock 1990 ZR-1 Shatters a 50 Year 24-Hour Speed Record – 2 Video Below! (This story first appeared in the May 2017 issue of...
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Own a Piece of Corvette History! 1988 ZR-1 Corvette Prototype Up For Auction!
Car auctions are a lot of fun because you never know how much or how little any given car is going to sell for. Next month at the Mecum Kissimmee Auction, January 5 – 14, a truly rare ZR-1 Corvette will hit the auction block. When the ZR-1 finally came out as a 1990 Corvette is was a very big deal. This was truly an exotic Corvette with its Lotus DOHC all-aluminum engine and wide body.
Mecum’s experts estimate that the car will sell for between $190,000-to-$225,000, but we’ll see. That’s why I’ll be recording the auction and posting it to our Corvette Report YouTube channel.
The Story of the ZR-1 Corvette – C4 1990-1991 ZR-1 Corvette: Part 2 of 4
Chevrolet milked the automotive press and stoked Corvette fans for nearly two years with rumors and sneak-peeks of the ZR-1 Corvette! This was obviously pre-Internet, so all the stoking was done the old-fashioned way, via paper magazines. This was to be the biggest power increase since the introduction of the big-block engine in 1965 and the first time there was an optional engine since the last big-block in ‘74. But unlike the 1974 $250 optional LS4 454 engine, the LT-5-powered ZR-1 was a total-car package deal that cost a thunderous $27,016 ON TOP OF the $31,979 base Corvette!
The Story of the C3, C4, C6, and C7 ZR-1/ZR1 Corvette: Part 1 of 4
The 1970-1/2 – 1972 ZR-1: There have been three distinctive “ZR-1 / ZR1” Corvettes since 1970. The first ZR-1 was actually the last of Duntov’s “Racer Kit” option packages, designed to provide a Corvette customer with the basics needed to go SCCA racing. Offered from 1970-1/2 to 1972, the RPO ZR-1 (and RPO ZR-2) were strictly “under-the-skin” hardware packages. There were no special badges, scoops, vents, limps, bumps, or budges. From the outside, the ZR-1 looked like any other LT-1 or 454 (as with the ZR-2) Corvette. These unique cars were not “marketed” in any way at all. You had to know about them to seek one out, and most of them, likely never saw street use.
Morrison 1990 ZR-1 Speed Record: Aver 24-Hour 174.885-MPH! – VIDEO
It was a cold, windy, overcast, nasty in Texas on the day of the record run. The timed event started at 9:55:12am on March 1, 1990 with John Heinricy at the wheel of the ZR-1 and Tommy Morrison driving the L98. The pace was essentially flat-out! Heinricy said, “Speed was in the low 190s. We didn’t lift in the turns. We entered them foot on the floor and by the time we came out of it, we’d be in the high-170s. It didn’t slow down much in the turns.” Fuel stops only took about 45-seconds to fill the 48-gallon fuel cell. Interestingly, the chassis and tires weren’t really stressed that much by the low cornering loads – something that would have been an issue at one of the high-banked tracks.
1990 ASC ZR-1 Corvette Spyder Show Car
by K. Scott Teeters, Written for Vette Magazine as republished from SuperChevy.com Excerpted from: Trend Setting Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype,...
1992 Falconer All-Aluminum V-12 Experimental ZR-12 Corvette
by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette Magazine and republished from SuperChevy.com Excerpted from: Trend Setting, Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype,...
1987 – Subcontractor Mercury Marine starts the first pre-production prototype LT-5 engine for the ZR-1 Super Vette
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues Timeline Tales: December 24, 1987 – Subcontractor Mercury Marine starts the first pre-production prototype LT-5 engine for...
1989 Snake Skinner ZR-1: Suddenly, it’s 1963 Again!
by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette magazine and republished from Super Chevy an excerpt from: Trend Setting, Part 14: A look back at...
What’a STEAL! 1991 Callaway ZR-1 Corvette Sells for $28,000!
In 1991 the ZR-1 was the “Corvette to die for!” Everything was SO exotic, it’s too bad Chevrolet played it outrageously safe with the body styling that looks almost exactly like a regular Corvette. On well, ZR-1s are still beauties and the only way it could get better was to have Callaway Engineering do their thing on top of what was already Corvette’s flagship model.
A Salute to the Amazing ZR-1 and ZR1 Corvette
The Corvette team was a very different group from the late ‘60s. One thing Dave McLellan and his team were determined to do was make sure their new world-class Vette was NOT launched prematurely. The team intended to release the ZR-1 as an ‘89 Corvette, but smartly chose to postpone production a year to make sure the car was right. The only downside to the entire enterprise was a small matter of the BIG price. At $27,016 on top of the $31,979 base price, this wasn’t just an engine option. No, no. everything from the flywheel back to the tires was bigger, more stout, and heavy duty. And rather than just add flares to the fenders to cover the oversized tires (ala the C3 L-88 fender flares), the entire back end of the car was widened. Unfortunately, the change was only noticeable to those with a keen Corvette eye or if the ZR-1 was next to a regular C4 Corvette. But, we won’t pick, as it was a magnificent car.
Vette Videos: 1992 C4 ZR-1 Corvette Promotional Video
Even though the big news for the ‘92 Corvette was the LT1 350 engine with 300-horsepower (a 50-hp jump from the previous L98 engine), the 375-horsepower ZR-1 continued to get most of the attention. The ZL-1 and it’s LT5 engine had proven itself in March 1990 when the Morrison Motorsports ZR-1 shattered a 50-year 24 hour average speed record, recording an astonishing 175.885-mph speed!
The engine was so stout that engine builders, such as Corvette racing legend, Kim Baker, were building LT5 engines that were pulling horsepower figures in the low 600-plus range, WITHOUT the use of turbos, roots, or centrical superchargers! The LT5 was arguably one of the strongest engines to ever work under the hood of a Corvette.
Vette Videos: 1992 ZR-1 Corvette Video hosted by Corvette Engineer John Heinricy and Four-Time Indy 500 Winner, Rick Mears
Take a test drive in a 1992 ZR-1 Corvette with Corvette engineer, John Heinricy and Indy 500 winner Rick Mears. This is an EXCELLENT. I wish these guys had done more of this. The engineering and race car driver perspective is first class. Enjoy. – Scott
The Art of the C4 ZR-1 LT-5 Corvette Engine
While 3-deuces had been around for over 10 years on Pontiacs, seeing that big triangular air cleaner atop of the already enormous big-block stuffed into the ‘67 Sting Ray was almost better than a Playboy centerfold!
