Whats your favorite sports car and why?
I daily-drive the Z06's bigger brother, which I've had since early 2010. Prior to that: a Z06, and prior to that, a highly modified '99 Corvette coupe. Prior to
that, a 96 LT4 Corvette coupe.
Of the group of cars, the ZR1 is by
far my favorite. Every time I drive it, I start giggling like a drooling idiot. It really has that sort of effect on a grown, responsible (HAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!) man. The previous Corvettes all have their strengths and were excellent for their time. The ZR1 just obliterates them.
And everything else it's come across on the local road course that I drive on regularly.
As a whole brand, the Corvette has been my favorite for my entire adult life. Why? A number of reasons:
- I like that it's American made. I'd rather keep Americans employed, and American companies profitable. So I buy American vehicles.
- It can and does serve multiple purposes: daily driver, errand runner, grocery getter, canyon carver, and track terrorizer.
- Along with all of those personalities, it also serves as a fantastic GT car, able to get reasonably good gas mileage on long trips.
- Corvette has been a great "bang for the buck" car for a very long time. Its performance is approachable by other cars that are significantly more expensive than it is. The same can be said for each model of Corvette; the more expensive it is, the far more expensive its true performance competition is.
The ZR1 is just more of this (except the gas mileage. ACK!) The neck-snapping, instant-on torque from the LS9 is whiplash inducing. People that drive high-revving, high horsepower cars don't quite understand what I mean by that. Even if their car puts out close to the ZR1's 640HP, it's the 605ft-lbs of torque available nearly off-idle that surprises them. The torque isn't delivered now, it's delivered
right now. Yesterday, almost.
(Fun note: my diesel GMC pick-up has the same torque rating as my Corvette...)
The sound. Good Christ, the sound is almost hysterical. As I noted: I used to have a (2007) Z06. The Z06 was the first car GM did the dual-mode exhaust on. At 3500RPMs, a vacuum line would slam open a valve in each muffler, and it would allow the LS7 to exhale almost non-muffled. It was quiet when cruising around town, and when you got on it, it let you know. I was standing next to my Z06 while it was on a chassis dyno one day. It was making a hell of a lot of noise as it was revving up; as soon as it hit 3500RMs and the baffles slammed out, the BOOM was awesome. And I started cackling like an mad scientist.
The ZR1 is a
lot more of that. The quiet mode is cool and collected, and when the baffles open up, the thunderclap is enough to make Zeus himself pause and take note. I was talking to a friend via Bluetooth over the phone one day while driving home. As I accelerated past someone, the baffles opened and the aforementioned thunderclap struck. He paused what he was saying to me and blurted out, "What was
that!?"
(Can you tell I love this car?)
The brakes. One of my chief complaints about Corvettes up until the ZR1: crap-tastic performance brakes. They were always a weight compromise. They served the car well in tests, but repeated abuse at the race track was always problematic. Even for the Z06. But with the ZR1, Team Corvette broke away from a lot of their OEM part contracts, and went after different manufacturers. They (properly) chose Brembo for the ZR1's brakes, and I'm quite happy they did that. The abuse I throw at those poor things would kill any other car's brakes, but the ZR1 just keeps going (and slowing!)
Suspension and handling tech. GM rarely gets credit for inventing and perfecting the magnetic shock absorbers that a lot of high-end makers are now using. They first appeared on a Cadillac, and then the 2003 50th anniversary Corvette. My car has the 2nd generation of those shocks, and they make daily commuting
and track terrorizing equally fun and comfortable. They work closely with GM's patented Performance Traction Management, which basically lets me cheat on the track. I can plant my foot to the floor at the apex of a corner, and the engine spools out
just enough torque to the rear tires so as to not overwhelm their available grip. This keeps me smoother, and on the track: smooth is fast.
As of 13 January, my ZR1 was officially "yesterday's news". The new Corvette is, in every way (except all-out performance, for now...) the better car. And it should be, since it's all new and redesigned from scratch. I can't wait to see one in person, and then wait a bit to see what kind of performance versions GM cooks up...