Power
-But Ron Meegan, the assistant chief engineer for the new 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's supercharged V8 (and formerly a member of the original ZR-1's engine team from 1990-'95), says he expects that once the new car's supercharged 6.2-liter V8 is certified, it will produce "greater than 620 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 595 pound-feet of torque in the 3,600-to-4,000-rpm range

So even GM doesn't have a final power figure yet. Although you can be sure that if Meegan's superiors allowed him to mention any figure to us, they're not worried about making those numbers.


Performance
-Juechter adds, "It's sort of like the Turbo but for less money and with performance — more like the Carrera GT."

And just to up the ZR1's chest-puffing quotient, Juechter notes this car "will be able to take the production-car track record at any racetrack." Ex-squeeze me? And no, the company has not done an officially timed run at the Nürburgring yet.

As for top speed, Juechter says only that the 200-mph speedometer of the standard and Z06 Corvettes has been replaced with a 220-mph unit, because the standard one is "grossly inadequate."


Wheels
The wheels are a new design produced by Speedline, measuring 20-by-12 inches in the rear and 19-by-10 inches up front. They are covered (barely) by Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires, specifically formulated for this vehicle. At 335/R2520, the rear tires resemble something you might find in a steamroller; the fronts are a not-much-more-modest 285/R3019.



Suspension
First are the rear shocks. When you're stopped and the clutch pedal is depressed and you pile on some revs, the car assumes you want to launch it hard. It automatically softens the compression damping of the rear shocks, and this allows the rear end to squat and effectively shift more weight to the rear of the car for added traction. At the same time, the rebound damping of the rear shocks goes up to 99 percent of full stiffness. This means that the rear cannot spring back up under power in the up-and-down monkey motion of axle hop.

All this is perhaps the cleverest use of adjustable shocks that we've ever heard of. Also, according to Juechter, the standard magnetic shocks allow the ZR1 chassis team to use softer springs than the Z06 for a more compliant ride. To further mitigate power hop, Chevy has also fitted the ZR1 with axle half-shafts of different diameters (33mm on the right and 40mm on the left).



Brakes
Juechter notes that the monster 15-inch Brembo carbon-ceramic rotors fitted as standard to the ZR1's rear wheels are the brakes originally designed for the front of Ferrari's 650-hp Enzo supercar. In the front of the ZR1, you'll find even larger 15.5-inch carbon-ceramic units.

Juechter says, "The only vehicle I know of that has these brakes as standard equipment is the 1,000-hp Bugatti Veyron." Then he adds with a grin, "Although I think you can get them as a $20,000 option on the Ferrari 599."



Supercharger
Why not turbocharging? "Well," says ZR1 chief engineer Tadge Juechter, "we built a turbo car and it burned. We didn't want to get into turbo lag or any drivability issues. We wanted it to be quicker than hell but still fun to drive."

Meegan tells us that Eaton's Twin Vortices Series (TVS) supercharger uses four-lobe rotors in place of the conventional three-lobe units, making it quieter and more efficient. The parasitic loss to drive the supercharger is around 70 or 80 hp, but it would have been more like 120 hp with the old supercharger (closer to turbo efficiency without the associated turbo lag), Juechter says.

It might seem strange, but the LS9 uses a lower-lift cam than the one used in the LS7, resulting in an idle that Meegan says is 11 percent smoother. Isn't this the baddest, leanest, most extreme, track-scorching, widow-making Vette from hell? Well, apparently, no.


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..1.*
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do....photopanel..3
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What happens when a law gets passes saying all cars must get 35+ MPG

The CAFE law? That only applies to brand new cars in 2022. And I believe its an industry average, not particularly every car. (Some cars will get 25mpg+, some will get 45mpg+)

I think the CAFE laws will bring out more areodynamic, efficient and lighter vehicles... which isn't bad at all.

__________________
Dream to Achieve.

The problem I have with the Vette is everyone and his uncle has one. You can see three pull up next to you at a stop light.

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Lambotsavy
Jalpa #ELA12100

Maybe its a good car but, once again, the "special" model Corvette looks way to much like every other Corvette. Why do they always do this -- ZR-1--ZL-1 original 63' Z06 even the fuel cars all looked like the regular cars

Running Around VIR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S7xbxuaXrA

From: BridgeToGantry.com - Everything Nurburgring Nordschleife! - More ZR1 Nurburgring News


Is that a supercharger under your bonnet or are you just pleased to see me?


The weather here in Nürburg continues warm and dry. So it's unsurprising that Chevrolet have been out testing the Corvette ZR1 - the supercharged 642bhp behemoth that promises to make the most of your $100,000.

Without insider knowledge* it would be difficult to confirm, but I think they may have been looking for a laptime today. From my office window I spotted a helicopter chasing something that sounded very V8 and awfully supercharged...


Ferrari red. On a Corvette. Weep.

*GM: This is an open invitation. We want more information!

There is no way a corvette will ever be a mid engined car. That is like a Lambo Murci replacement having an engine mounted in the front...it wont happen.

It looks pretty damn good in those pictures about. And 488ciViper, nobody has said anything about mid engined...

__________________
Dream to Achieve.