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Brake Dancer: Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Written by: Howard Walker
RACER Magazine   http://www.racer.com
08/27/2008
Tampa, Fla.
 
Exterior detail changes are minor - it's what's under the hood and behind the wheel rims that really distinguishes the latest ZR1 as the ultimate 'Vette. » More Photos

Yep, it’s quick. As in speeding-bullet quick. As in parked-to-60 mph in 3.4 seconds quick. As in 205 mph top speed quick. But it’s what happens when you stomp on the middle pedal that turns Chevy’s latest and greatest ’Vette – the eagerly-awaited $105-grand ZR1 – into a true automotive rock star.

This thing has the brakes from hell.

Just the sight of the monster rotors and giant metallic blue calipers lurking behind the ZR1’s thin-spoked 20-inch rims will have you salivating like a sophomore at a spring break wet t-shirt contest.

Supplied by Brembo, the 15.5-inch front and 15-inch rear carbon ceramic stoppers are the biggest fitted to any production car. In fact the front rotors were originally created for Ferrari’s Enzo-based FXX track racer, while the rears are the same ones used for the Enzo’s fronts.

Hit them really, really hard and they’ll turn in a staggering 1.2g of deceleration, and in the process detach retinas and transform belly buttons from innies to outties. And if you need one more number to piss off the Viper boys, reel-off the zero-to-100 mph-to-zero time of 11 seconds dead. That’s over two seconds better than the Snake.

Yet unlike most other carbon-ceramic setups, the Corvette’s anchors don’t squeal like a piglet when cold, or grab under light pedal pressure. They’re nothing less than stupefyingly awesome.

Which pretty much describes everything else about this Detroit superhero.
Hand-built 6.2-liter supercharged LS9 V8 delivers a 133hp boost over the Z06's 505hp. » More Photos

Half a day spent lapping GM’s killer 2.9-mile Milford Road Course, otherwise known
as the ‘Lutzring’ in honor of The General’s car-czar vice-chairman, showed the new ’Vette to be mind-numbingly-quick yet staggeringly well-mannered. At least at our level of real-world fast driving.

But it was two laps in the passenger seat alongside development engineer Jim Mero that showed the ZR1’s out-of-this-world capability.

Jim who? He’s the stocky, nice-as-pie, everyday joe who hammered the ZR1 around the Nürburgring in a Nissan GT-R/Porsche GT2-decimating time of 7 minutes 26.4 seconds, setting a new production car lap record in the process. Think of him as Superman in Kmart chinos.

Mero reckons the brilliance of the new ’Vette has a lot to do with those Brembo rotors coupled with the custom-tailored Michelin Pilot Sport 2 run-flats that hoover the Chevy to the blacktop like a Dyson on steroids. Mero would consistently brake what seemed like a minute later than us mere mortal drivers and use the Michelins’ staggering grip to fire through the Lutzring’s fearsome array of roller-coaster curves.

It’s certainly a smart move on Chevy’s part to include a high-performance driving course at Bondurant’s Spring Mountain, Nevada school with every new ZR1. Even if it’s simply to make the GM legal department breathe easier.

Two laps were just enough to avoid the jettisoning of stomach contents in the aptly named Toilet Bowl, a 45-degree-banked wall-of-death turn fashioned after the ’Ring’s famous Karussell.

Time to take a break and soak up the technical majesty of this King of the Hill Corvette.

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