Jalopnik: chevy zr1

Corvette ZR1 Independently Dynos 530 Rear-Wheel Horsepower

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:15:00 EDT

NASCAR’s Hendricks Motorsports picked up five Corvette ZR1s at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green last week with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in tow. They promptly dropped two of the cars straight on a dyno in North Carolina to see just what the super-Vettes were making at the rear wheels. The results? 530 HP and 508 ft-lbs of torque. Considering the flywheel power is 638 HP, these figures are in line with the rule-of-thumb 15% driveline losses for rear-wheel-drive cars. After some tuning and adjustment, they managed to bump it up to 567 HP and 532 ft-lbs. Anyway, check out the complete dyno sheet yourself. [Corvette Blogger]

Corvette ZR1 Blitzes Europe With 190 MPH Autobahn Run

Mark Arnold — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Not counting the cars brought over to test on the Nurburgring, this is the first Corvette ZR1 in Europe. So what would you do with a 205 MPH car and a stretch of Autobahn with no speed limit? Exactly. Sure, they only hit about 192 MPH, but for an impromptu run with a fair amount of traffic on the road, that's stupid fast. Video below the jump.

[via autoblog.nl]

2009 Dodge Viper ACR Steals Nürburgring Record From Corvette ZR1, Laps In 7:22

Mark Arnold — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:30:00 EDT

A 2009 Dodge Viper ACR has claimed the fastest time ever for a production car around the Nürburgring. The lap of 7:22 is just a few ticks quicker than the 7:26.4 lap set by the 2009 Corvette ZR1. It doesn't come as much of a surprise, since the ACR is the most brutal version of the already-unforgiving Viper, whereas the ZR1 actually drives well on the road. Nonetheless, the Viper ACR is the new unofficial king of the 'Ring.

If you'd like to compare its on-board video of the record lap to the ZR1's video, check it out over at Motor Trend. Looks like Jim Mero may have to head back to Germany and set that faster lap he was talking about after all. [Motor Trend]

First 2009 Corvette ZR1 Rolls Off Assembly Line To Thunderous Media Silence

Andrew Stoy — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The much-anticipated 2009 Corvette ZR1 began production, as the first unit finished the assembly process and was delivered to Chevy dealer Dave Ressler during a press event in Bowling Green on Monday. What, you didn't notice? Well, it seems the build coincided with the unveiling of the new Chevy Camaro, forcing the ZR1 news under the radar. Guess those promotions budget cuts only allow one high-profile unveiling per week, eh?

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: Dave Ressler, the new owner of the first 2009 ZR1 — the rights to which were sold at Barrett-Jackson, with proceeds going to charity — also happens to be the owner of the oldest known Corvette, a 1953 model. So what does Ressler do for a living? Why, he's a Chevy dealer, of course, and the owner of a large 'Vette collection in North Dakota. Ressler hasn't announced his plans for the new car, which has unique blue paint and a special VIN, but we hope he doesn't squirrel it away in his barn. North Dakota farm roads and ZR1s seem made for each other. [via VetteTube]

Ashley Van Dyke Is NOT Driving A Corvette ZR1 In The Bullrun

Ray Wert — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:30:38 EDT

A quick glance at the very graphical press release from Ashley Van Dyke, the motor-loving mistress of the Bullrun TV show, and you'll think perhaps she'll be driving the new $413,000 ($105,000 minus dealer markup) and 638 HP 2009 Chevy ZR1 in this week's Bullrun road rally. It's hard not to. It's right there at the top of the press release. For a moment there we thought maybe Chevy was throwing down the ZR1 for some road rallying hype — like the Z06 before it for the Frankl twins. A quick e-mail to Chevy was enough to tell us they certainly didn't give her one and according to our friends at GTSpirit, we've found out what she is driving. They tell us the lovely lady's driving a Corvette Z06. While the Z06 is a blast to drive, we don't think it's quite the horsepowergasm of the upcoming ZR1. Mostly because it's not so powerful we're simultaneously pissing our pants and giggling like a schoolgirl at the thought of getting behind the wheel. So, while there's no ZR1 on the 'run, self-promotion is still running rampant. Hit the jump to see the press release in its entirety. [Ashley Van Dyke, Bullrun]