The Duntov Files, Pt. 1 – Zora’s 1969 427 ZL1 Racer – PDF E-Book
New series of FREE Corvette E-Books from K. Scott Teeters’ collection of Corvette Reference Material
To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE. The C8 ZR1 is all over the internet these days and is the fourth iteration of the storied “ZR1” moniker. The original RPO ZR1 was offered from 1970 to 1972. It was essentially an RPO L88 Corvette, but powered by the solid-lifter 350 LT1 cast iron small block Chevy engine, instead of the 427 L88. RPO L88 wasn’t just a racing engine option; it was a suite of racing-grade suspension and brake packages.
The big-block L88, with its aluminum heads, was available from 1967 to 1969. This was another of Zora Arkus-Duntov’s “racer kit” options. Zora was precluded from racing his most powerful Corvettes, but his engineering department was allowed to design a package of parts that provided the customer with a starter, big-block Corvette race car.
This was one of Duntov’s many mule (toy) Corvettes.
“Going fast” has never been cheap. RPO L88 started in 1967 as a $947 option ($9,143 in 2025 dollars) and by 1969 cost $1,031, which is less than today’s 2025 C8’s carbon fiber wheels option! As the L88 was a racing option, designed to operate at high rpms and speed, this was NOT a Corvette for the street. Duntov deliberately discouraged buyers from the L88 by listing the horsepower rating of the 427 L88 at 430 horsepower; 5 horsepower LESS than the L71 427/435. “On paper” why would a customer want to spend more money for the L88 and get less horsepower? To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE.
It was all an amusing ruse, making the L88 more mysterious. Consequently, from 1967 to 1969 Chevrolet only built 216 427 L88 Corvettes, today, making them some of the most valuable Corvettes available. Beginning in 1970, the L88 morphed into the ZR1, which was an L88 with the 350/370 solid-lifter small-block.
In the early 60s, Duntov and his team spent years experimenting with aluminum heads for the small-block and all-aluminum small-blocks for the Grand Sport Corvette and Chaparral race cars. Reliability was the main issue, as the small-block Chevy engine was never designed to be cast in aluminum. Consequently, Duntov’s daydream of a Corvette powered by an all-aluminum engine never came to fruition.
However, in 1969 Chevrolet offered the aluminum block RPO ZL1 option for the L88 option, for a staggering $3,000 ($26,770!), on top of the $1,032 RPO L88 for a total of $4,032 on top of the $4,781 base model Corvette Coupe, for a grand total of $8,818 ($78,686 in 2025 dollars). To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE.
Consequently, only TWO 1969 427 ZL1 Corvettes were built. Aluminum alloys improved as the years rolled by and from 1985 to 1996 the small-block L89 and LT1 had aluminum heads, and by 1997 the new C5 was powered by the all-new, all-aluminum LS1. Today, aluminum heads and blocks are no big deal, as almost all cars have aluminum heads and blocks.
Back to the original 1970-1972 ZR1s, only 57 ZR1s were built over the three years of production. The ’67 L88 Corvettes looked like any other 427 ’67 Corvette. The ’69-’69 L88s all had the air-induction “power dome” (an extremely popular design that was quickly available in the aftermarket) and all ’70-’70 ZR1 Corvettes looked like any other LT1 Corvette. The L88 and ZR1 options had no unique badging whatsoever.
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Chevrolet sold hundreds of 427 L88 engines through its Performance Parts Catalog. Chevrolet even had a beefier version of the aluminum ZL1 called the 430 Can-Am. The Can-Am 430 all-aluminum big-blocks were mostly used in the McLaren Can-Am racers that dominated the series in the late ’70s. Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins preferred the 430 Can-Am block over the ZL1 because it was stronger. To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE.
The all-aluminum 427 ZL1 or the 430 Can-Am engines delivered massive big-block horsepower and torque, with the light weight of a small-block. The was literally the vanguard of ultra-high-performance, circa 1969.
But, back to the ZR1, Chevrolet resurrected the ZR1 moniker for the C4 1990-1995 ZR1. But unlike the C3 ZR1, the C4 iteration wasn’t just an engine option, it was a whole-car package that cost almost as much as the base price of the car, weighing in around $59,000 in 1990 (around $147,000 in 2025 dollars) to $68,000 in 1995.
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Then in 2009, when no one was expecting it, Chevrolet unleashed the $103,300 ($155,400 in 2025 dollars) supercharged C6 ZR1 with 638 horsepower with an aggressive aero package. The C6 ZR1’s top speed (with a speed-limiting governor) was 205 mph! The C6 ZR1 was also the first-ever supercharged Corvette. From 2009 to 2013 Chevrolet sold 4,544 ZR1s. For the C7 generation, the ZR1 was only offered in 2019, costing $119,995 ($154,400 in 2025 dollars) The C7 ZR1 was rated at 775 horsepower. To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE.
Fast forward to 2025, the C8 ZR1 has a starting price of $173,300. Many Corvette fans have played with the online ZR1 configurator and managed to ding the price bell, with options, up to just over $225,000.
Back in the day, the 550-600 horsepower L88/ZL1 was not a Corvette for the street. All of the C4, C6, C7, and C8 ZR1 have ZL1 DNA baked into the design. Never did Duntov imagine that one day, a street Corvette would have nearly DOUBLE that of the highest-performance Corvette he could build, WITH all the creature comforts you could imagine
So, lets take a look back at a unique 1968-1969 ZL1 mule Corvette Duntov built for R&D purposes. Zora’s white, race car-like ZL1 made a big splash in the automotive press. Many have wondered (including this writer), what ever happened to Duntov’s quasi-racer 427 ZL1. Most likely (like almost all R&D cars) the car had its good parts removed and what was left went into the crusher.
The C8 ZR1 Corvette is the current pinnacle of GM performance engineering. Let’s look back at what was once GM’s cutting-edge performance machine.
Enjoy and feel free to share with your Corvette friends. – Scott
To open the free E-Book, CLICK HERE.
