German Car Zone

Brute Force, Mild Manners


Brute force, a quality we can't help but assign to any car generating 638 horsepower, is by definition anything but subtle. Yet the 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1 manages at once to be both brutally quick and remarkably mild-mannered. Its quarter-mile acceleration is quicker than any production car we've ever tested, its chassis is benign but highly capable and its carbon-ceramic brakes are mind-bending in their effectiveness. This new Vette offers an unlikely combination of performance and real-world usability that we're proud to experience in an American car.

This combination is as rare as truth in a presidential debate. Honestly, most of the ZR1's competition (think Dodge Viper ACR) or Nissan GT-R)) is less capable and makes a much larger compromise in typical road driving. With the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 we have a machine that is engaging to drive, capable of making insane numbers on the test track and also a legitimate road car.

Insane Numbers

We hit the track early in the morning with the Corvette ZR1 when the temperature is low and barometric pressure is high — an ideal combination. The corrected results (which are slightly slower than the numbers the car actually runs) are truly impressive. The 60-mph mark arrives in 3.8 seconds (3.5 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip). The quarter-mile disappears in 11.5 seconds at a staggering 128.3 mph.

The last Dodge Viper ACR we tested hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds (3.4 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) and completed the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 124.2 mph. The less-powerful Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is only marginally slower at 3.9 seconds to 60 mph (3.6 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip) and does the quarter in 11.7 seconds at 123.2 mph.

The Inside Line records continued to fall as we moved on to our handling tests. In direct contrast to the Z06, the ZR1 is stable, communicative and easy to control on its way to a 74.7-mph pass through the slalom. This is the second-fastest slalom speed we've recorded from a production car, behind only the Porsche 911 GT3 RS at 75.3 mph.

The skid pad performance is even more outrageous. There's massive stick, but the rear end refuses to step out unless you purposely make big stabs at the throttle — and then the back of the car slides predictably and controllably. The result — a 1.06g average in both directions (our standard) with a peak reading of 1.1g — is second only to the Dodge Viper ACR.

The ZR1 brakes to a halt from 60 mph in 96 feet, which ties this Chevy with the $198,875 Porsche 911 GT2. Chalk this up to Brembo carbon-ceramic brake rotors and massive fixed calipers (six-piston front, four-piston rear).


Full Article and Video: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Full Test and Video


M

I don't understand why the Americans put up with crappy cars like the Corvette. Successive generations of Corvettes have cheap and crappy interior and this one is no exception. The same goes for the Ford Mustang.

There is a reason why more and more people are deserting GM, Ford, and Chrysler for Japanese and European brands.

Being patriotic is one thing. But buying crap is another.

Very well said, and thought I was the only one who doesn't like American cars. Every time they come out with a car they promote it to death (nurburgring lap times). The Zr-1 and the CTS-v are perfect examples. BMW actually recorded a 7:54 lap time for the M5, but they didn't promote it. They didn't need to promote that. Unlike American automakers, BMW and all the European and Japanese automakers have respect. Respect is something American automakers want and won't get. At least not from me. American automakers try to act like they're better than European automakers, trying to compare everything with the european cars (Hyundai too). The only reason why the CTS-V is priced lower than its comparitors is because its filled with very low quality materials, Espacially the interiors. I would like to see someone say that the E63 AMG has a low quality interior. When Chrysler came out with the 300C they tried to compare it with the Bentley Arnage T, they tried to call it a baby bentley, Stupid. In reality the 300C is an uncomfortable, plasticy, unrealiable peice of $h!t. They're just peices of Amercian crap that Americans feel proud about.

P.S, As you can tell I absouletly hate American cars.

Wow...a lot of hate in misinformation.

M

Lol i hate it when they push the rear of this car in the video..
Its all plastic.. annoys me..
But damn its good looking and fast like a rocket

If only it had an interior to match the stellar performance

BMW's thermoplastic front fenders will do the same. They're lighter than steel, and it's cheaper to have it yield than to have steel or aluminum that crumples.


The price difference between a CTS-V and an M5 is not because one is crap and the other isn't. I agree GM could improve the ZR1's interior.