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Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Moniker
Filed under: Exotic Cars, Chevrolet Corvette, Coupes, Sports
We reported last week on a new set of spy shots of Chevy's most recent and utterly ridiculous top-spec iteration of the C6 Corvette. We called it the Corvette SS. A few folks out there still refer to it as the Blue Devil.
Apparently, we're all wrong. According to Motor Trend, the General has settled on a name that harkens back to the past, and the relatively recent past, at that. The (most-likely) 2009 model year, supercharged, 650 hp, track ready monster will be known as the ZR1.
The ZR1 designation first broke ground in 1971 with a 350 cube, 370 hp option for the paltry sum of $1,010. Only eight were sold. More famously, it made a return as the ZR-1 (notice the hyphen) in 1990 with a quad-cam, 375 hp Lotus-designed small block and represented the pinnacle of the 'Vette species, at least until the 380 hp Z06 broke cover in 2001. Motor Trend also confirms the soon-to-be mid-range Z06 (pictured) will remain in production alongside the ZR1. We'd heard rumors the new King Corvette would not only depose the Z06 from its throne, but also be responsible for its execution. With all indication the ZR1 will cost in excess of $100,000, this seems like a smart move to us. After all, Porsche doesn't seem to have much trouble maintaining a robust lineup of its 911, one of the Corvette's mortal enemies. The standard Carrera, Carrera S, Turbo, GT3 and soon the GT2 all occupy distinct levels of price and performance in the Porsche pantheon. There doesn't seem to be any reason the Corvette can't follow the same sort of structure with the base model, the Z06 and now the ZR1.
We don't yet know the total run for the ZR1 variant, but with only about 8,000 Z6s produced in 2007, we don't expect more than a couple thousand at most. Collectors and completists, get your checkbooks ready. Everyone else, run and hide.
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