The autoblogosphere's going apeshit over the Corvette ZR1's price and performance. So here's some technical goss unearthed by TTAC's Sajeev Mehta in conversation with the powertrain guys… The Magnaride suspension wasn't available on the 2007 Z06 because Chevy's uber tuners didn't deem the system track worthy. Ferrari got it last year– AFTER Magnaride upgraded to new shock pistons and fluid, and a much smarter computer. Since Ferrari has it, the ZR1 gets it (the road course-killing Z06 is SOL). The ZR1 also has the larger of the two blowers available from Eaton Corp: a 2.3 monster that's bigger than many engines. Which means the ZR1 is SERIOUSLY undertuned from the factory. And just so you'll know how much trouble you're about to get into, the Uber-Vette's head-up display will show boost pressure on the rocket's windshield. Hopefully, it also comes with OnStar to call the paramedics, fire department and sanitation department if worst comes to drive the thing.
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I checked my favorite exotic car web site (other than TTAC:-). They already list Vettes, so this move will not cause a change in status for the Vette, although maybe they will log the ZR1s separately now.
The Magneride technology is really amazing, even in Version 1.0, as seen in the 2003-04 Corvette. After having tried out every iteration of adjustable damping on the Corvette, dating back to the FX3 Bilsteins of the original ZR-1, I’m really looking forward to the new setup. Might even be enough to make me overlook that hood.
I think Chevy has really done a fantastic job with these generation of corvettes…it’s been out for several model years now and is still incredibly competitive in pricing and performance. They have slowly released their “special editions”…and they aren’t just badge jobs, offering serious performance upgrades from an already hardcore machine.
And now this….the ZR1. The type of car that makes people not look forward to driving it, but slightly fear driving it.
Now that’s a halo car.
Joe
Hmmm…new pulley, bit o’ ECU tuning, and get rid of those useless exhaust restrictors, and this could be serious fun. Yummy. I can only hope that the twin screw sounds as sexy as a Kenne Bell Twin Screw on a ’03/’04 SVT Cobra.
The ’03/04 Cobra sounds like its alternator is about to catch fire. My apologies to those who like that sound of that blower. :)
Here’s to the ZR1 sounding like the Lysholm blower on the Ford GT: a pure V8 with nothing getting in its way.
@Sajeev,
Virtual insanity is referring to the aftermarket twin screw on the Terminator Cobras. The stock blower sounds to me like a dentiso-phobes worst nightmare.
@VI,
The exhaust restrictors pose no restriction at WOT; they only quell part throttle resonance. If you like low rpm boominess, you can pull a fuse or install a trick switch…not unlike the owners of current Z06’s and 2008 base Vettes with the optional exhaust.
Sajeev is so right. I’ll take a big turbocharger instead.
I still want to see the tuner who makes a compound boost setup with turbos in the ass, just for shits and giggles. As far as you can tell Sajeev, will the Magnaride black box computer be housed in the ECU? If it is, getting the Magnaride to talk to Accel DFI or AEM should be a nasty chore for those tuners that want to take the vehicle to the ultimate edge of extreme.
Just another car I’ll never own and will be relegated to drooling over. Maybe it will get me to walk into a GM dealer like the two Ford GTs parked outside a Ford dealer a couple of years ago. Probably not.
doctorv8:
Got it spot on with the Kenne Bells. Coming at you, they scream like a Banshee, and when they go past, all you hear is that wide open V8. I love the fact that in the car and when its next to you, the blower over powers the exhaust.
And when I speak of exhaust restrictors, I speak of catalytic converters and such, lol.
Nopanegain:
Do you mean like a blower up front and then rear/remot mount turbos? I don’t think it would be to hard to fab something up using the STS system. Expensive, though.
My goodness, I am so burned out I didn’t even see that V.I. wrote about the KB blower. I take that back, cause I’m all about the Whipple. :)
I need a vacation from my NAIAS vacation.
Nopanegain:
Do you mean like a blower up front and then rear/remot mount turbos? I don’t think it would be to hard to fab something up using the STS system. Expensive, though.
That is exactly what I was thinking. I have driven a compound boost system and it is a hell of a lot of fun but an engineering nightmare. You can get all of that delicious supercharger boost off the line combined with some toilet-sized turbos in the rear for breaking the rear end loose in 4th gear.