Considered to be an Undervalued Collectible, the C4 ZR1 is destined
to appreciate and starting to appear on collectors' lists as the
next 90's era car to start hunting.
With Just 33 Miles and still in the wrapper, this Black Beauty
checks off all the boxes with a ton of documentation, glass roof
with protective film, original window stickers and sales
documents.
An engineering achievement, the ZR1 was well ahead of its time and
brought the Corvette back into the Super Car Performance
Category!!
Great lease rates and Financing also available on any of our
inventory!
Buy Sell Trade Consignments Welcome!
Please email
[email protected] or call
1-818-773-8181
About the ZR1
The C4 Corvette was produced from 1983 until 1996. The highest
performance variant was exemplified by the 375HP LT5 found in the
ZR-1.
In early March 1990, the ZR-1 would set a new record for the
highest 24 hour-5,000 mile land-speed by going over a speed of 175
mph.
General Motors acquired Group Lotus, a UK based engineering
consultant and performance car manufacturing firm, during 1986. The
Corvette division approached Lotus with the idea of developing the
world's fastest production car, to be based on the C4 generation of
the Corvette.
With input from GM, Lotus designed a new engine to fit in place of
the L98 V8 that was powering the standard C4. The result was what
GM dubbed the LT5, an aluminum-block V8 with the same bore centers
as the L98, but with four overhead camshafts and 32 valves. Lotus
also designed a unique air management system for the engine to
provide a wider power band by shutting off 8 of the 16 intake
runners and fuel injectors when the engine was at part-throttle,
while still giving the ZR-1 a power output of 375 hp when at wide
open throttle.
In addition to the engine, Lotus helped GM design the ZR-1's
upgraded braking and steering systems. The ZR-1 is fitted with
Goodyear Eagle Gatorback tires having size of P315/ 35ZR-17
specially made for the car along with bigger ventilated disc
brakes. The ZR-1 came standard with the UJ6 Low-Tire-Pressure
Warning System along with an ABS system manufactured by Bosch.
The FX3 suspension system was engineered by Bilstein and was
similar to the system used in the Porsche 959 albeit with
modifications from the Lotus Formula 1 division. The system used a
gas-over-oil shock absorber whose hollow center shaft came fitted
with an adjustable orifice which controls the flow of oil in the
shock absorber. The system allowed for six damping settings in each
of the three driving modes namely Touring, Sport, and Performance
and had 14 total steps. Servomotors coupled with a microprocessor
governed the vehicle's speed and adjusted the suspension system
accordingly.
The 5.7-litre DOHC 32-valve LT5 engine unique to the car had a
central bore spacing of 4.40 inches. The distance was maintained by
reducing the bore from 4.00 to 3.90 inches while the stroke was
increased from 3.48 to 3.66 inches. The aluminum cylinder liners
were Nikasil-coated and the engine block has a cast-aluminum oil
sump. The crankcase has integral four- and six-bolt cast-iron main
bearing caps which secure the forged steel crankshaft into place.
The four camshafts of the engine are driven by a roller chain and
actuate hydraulic lifters that eliminate valve lash adjustment. The
four-valve combustion chambers feature centrally-located spark
plugs which act in combination with dished aluminum pistons
enabling for a compression ratio of 11.0:1. The engine held 12
quarts of oil, 7 more than the L98 engine. The LT5 also came with a
unique two valve induction system along with 16 tuned-length intake
runners and a specially designed intake manifold using three
throttle bodies. The small primary throttle body was for responsive
low speed operation while the two large secondary throttle bodies
enabled for full-power usage. The engine used direct-fire ignition:
Four coils ignite two spark plugs simultaneously, upon receiving
their cue from a crankshaft sensor acting in combination with the
ECM. Spark advance and retardation are electronically controlled by
the ECM, which gets an additional information from a knock sensor.
A distinctive cooling system incorporating a 15% larger radiator
ensured that the operating temperature of the engine remained the
same as the L98 despite the differences in construction and
operation.
In order to transfer power efficiently to the rear wheels, a unique
6-speed manual transmission manufactured by ZF was installed with a
code name of ML9. The transmission used Computer Aided Gear
Selection (CAGS) which forced the driver to shift from first to
fourth under low power urban driving conditions. The transmission
has a tweaked ring and pinion ratio of 3.54:1 and a lower final
drive ratio of 3.33:1.
Other exterior modifications include a hard coated acrylic roof
panel, and seven additional exterior colors. The interior came
standard with leather sports seats and a Delco/Bose sound
system.
Tested performance figures by Road & Track magazine include a 0-60
mph acceleration time of 4.9 seconds, a quarter mile time of 13.4
seconds, braking distance of 132 ft from 60 mph and 233 ft from 80
mph along with skidpad acceleration of 0.94 g. The car's tested top
speed by the magazine amounted to 179 mph.
GM found that the engine required special assembly, and that
neither the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky nor any of
their normal production facilities could handle the workload, so
Mercury Marine corporation of Stillwater, Oklahoma was contracted
to assemble the engines under their MerCruiser division, due to
their experience in working with aluminum, and ship them to the
Corvette factory in Bowling Green where the ZR-1s were being
assembled. The engine assembly involved 95% drilling and boring
completed at the Mercury Marine plant. The engine was largely
assembled by hand and was Dyno tested before being sent to
Chevrolet. Mercury Marine secured two LT5 V8 engines for itself.
These engines were used in the ZR-1 owned by the company president
and a custom made speedboat called the "Wette Vette". The engine
was modified to be used in the boat and had an increased output of
420HP
The ZR-1 was introduced at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show and went on
sale later that year and was available only as a fastback coupe
bodystyle with a removable roof panel. It was distinguishable from
other Corvette coupes by its wider tail section, 11-inch wide rear
wheels and its new convex rear fascia with four square shaped
taillights along with a special red ZR-1 badge in between.
In 1990, the 1991 ZR-1 and 1991 base model received updates to
bodywork, interior, and wheels. The rear convex fascia that set the
1990 ZR-1 apart from the base model found its way to all 1991
models, making the high-priced ZR-1 even less distinguishable.
Further changes were made the following year in 1991, including
extra ZR-1 badges on the fenders and the introduction of
Acceleration Slip Regulation (ASR) or traction control.
For model year 1993, modifications which were designed by Lotus
were made to the cylinder heads, exhaust system and valvetrain of
the LT5 bringing power output up from 375 to 405HP and 385 lb�ft of
torque. The model remained nearly unchanged into the 1995 model
year, after which the ZR-1 was discontinued. A total of 6,939 ZR-1
models were manufactured over the six-year period. Not until the
debut of the C5 based Z06 in 2001 would Chevrolet have another
production Corvette capable of matching the ZR-1's
performance.<...for more information please contact the seller.
