The convenience-store cashier tells us that Becky's Home Cooking Restaurant is only a few blocks away. But we are strangers, and the signs in Rosman, North Carolina, are not so clear to us Yankees, and soon we have to stop and ask again. We ask a telephone repairman. Isstreet: raytdahnair. As we rumble toward them, the shoveling stops. Their heads swivel in unison, like deer sensing movement.
As we exit the lot after the meal, our audience is twirling their fingers at us, signaling us to squeal the tires. Leaving positive impressions on young minds is a civic duty, but we hesitate, noting a county patrol car parked up the street. Rich gets on the anyway, but as soon as it heaves forward with boost, there is the officer, walking toward his car. Wonder if the kids got their nickel's worth If audacity were all that counted, this contest would have been decided before it began. The Turbo is Mr.
Its bulging sheetmetal and massive rear wing promise race-car performance. Its flawless bodywork and mirror-like finish suggest images of white-coated craftsmen fitting each part with meticulous care—which is not all that far from the truth. The car looks very, very expensive, which of course it is.
How expensive? The price does include both the new federal luxury tax and the gas-guzzler tax. For that kind of scratch, it's at least reassuring to discover that the Turbo is rife with elegant engineering. The suspension's control arms are beautiful forged-alloy pieces.
The brake rotors are cross-drilled like a race car's for maximum cooling. Look under the rear bumper's left corner and you'll notice that the turbocharger waste-gate outlet pipe is fitted with its own miniature catalytic converter.
The Turbo's cabin is a mix of expensive Old World craftsmanship and just plain old. The soft leather on the four-spoke, air-bag-equipped wheel would do a very fine pair of gloves just swell. You can option yourself to death as regards leather.
The pedals still hinge at the bottom, Beetle-style. Every piece of trim is impeccably battened down. The dash remains the old design: the gauge arrangement is still one of the best, with a tach the size of a salad plate located squarely in front of you. But the switchgear, much of it added over the years, is strewn about the instrument panel haphazardly.
To Porsche's credit, it has managed to stuff a passenger-side air bag into the ancient dash layout. Unlike the nasty north in winter, South Carolina is all sunshine, so Deputy Slide Rule Schroeder cannot tolerate one more minute behind the wheel of a Corvette ZR-1 coated with Kosher-size salt chunks and grease globules from Michigan and Ohio. We pull into Bob's Car Wash in Columbia.
Bob's is crowded. Just before our turn on the roller track, we measure the Vette's left-rear tire to be sure it will fit. It's Could be close. Ten feet into the wash, the Vette gets stuck, and refuses to move forward into its bath.
Schroeder must back it out over the rollers, holding up a restless crowd. Luckily, they're too amused that our fancy car will have to be hand-washed in Bob's driveway to be angry. We don't get the Glow Wax, but we don't have to pay, either. Thanks, Bob.
The view out of the is very un-sports-car-like. You sit bolt upright in the deeply winged seats, and you crank the seatback up even further in order to make the long reach to the steering wheel. The is noticeably taller than the Vette, five inches in fact. The front window is nearly vertical, and the hood is short—this is a rear-engined car, remember—so the view out is superb. Your field of vision could not be better even if you sat on the hood. Even if Porsche had put a '51 Studebaker body over this chassis, you'd know what was underneath by the time you got a mile down the road.
Everything your five senses register harks back through 25 years of Porsche history. The engine, for instance, emits the same hard-edged thrum Porsche flat sixes have always made. And why not?
It's a mildly reworked version of the previous model's single-turbo 3. Even its Jekyll-and-Hyde personality is there, though more subtle than before.
At low revs the big turbocharger is barely ticking over, and the engine feels like it has its feet up on the desk; you have time to recite the first stanza of Beowulf before the boost comes up.
But above three grand, the Turbo is on a caffeine high. Put your foot down and hold on: the speedo needle blurs past 60 mph in 4. The Turbo's parentage really comes into focus when you press hard. Drive it to 85 percent of its cornering potential and it's sweet and sophisticated. It reacts confidently.
The steering is sensitive and accurate, with just the right weighting. And no Turbo was ever so stable in a straight line at speeds above the century mark. But turn it loose on a back road looking for that last fifteen percent and the Turbo acts up in much the manner of the previous version. It is a double handful in the corners, pitching and twitching like it longs to visit that ditch—a disobedient, thrusting animal trying to break its leash, or, if it doesn't get its way, its own neck.
On the racetrack, the Turbo's mean streak made us conservative and kept it from getting within two seconds a lap of the ZR The right kind, if you're watching these cars from the finish line at the half-mile front straightaway of Roebling Road.
Even under full throttle, the Turbo approaches with an uncanny, freight-train-like silence. But as it passes, the hint of rushing wind transforms into an explosion of guttural ripping. On the other hand, the is a gentleman compared with the ZR- 1, which, when flat out, seems like a car gone mad. Rounding the final curve in third gear, it cries out, clearly audible and urgent, its rising wail becoming almost frightening as it approaches and blasts past at more than mph.
A straining LT-5 is a great conversation stopper. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. The ZR -1 was the highest cost production car in the GM inventory. The ZR -1 engine is a Lotus-designed valve, dual-overhead-cam, cubic inch 5.
The C7 is unique in this group as only having one year of production. It was a successful one though as only the first year ZR -1s found more buyers 3, in a single. General Motors approached Lotus in , which was part of GM then, and asked for their help developing a high-performance car to be based on the C4 Vette.
By comparison, the ZR -1 …. Production Numbers. For once again only sold units. Consequently, Chevrolet announced its decision to cease production of the ZR1 after The C4 ZR -1 seems to get a bad rap these days.
Its production numbers are low and its performance is high, and the free-revving LT5 delivers a unique driving experience. It deserves respect.
Also from Issue See Also : Magazines Show details. Here we have a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. This is a car that originally debuted in , roughly 6 years after the first C4 was released in While the price tag was never close to that of a Europen super car, not. See Also : Beauty Show details. See Also : Ads Show details. Request Information. Certified Pre-Owned: No. Transmission: 6-Speed Manual. Change Options. Original MSRP. Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price. Low Retail Value.
This vehicle would be in mechanically functional condition, needing only minor reconditioning. The exterior paint, trim and interior would show normal wear, needing only minor reconditioning.
May also be a deteriorated restoration or a very. A small ZR-1 badge was affixed below the right rear light. But the wheels were inches wide with mph Z-rated inch tires. To fit those tires, the rear of the car was widened three inches, which necessitated a different rear clip, doors and rocker panels.
Somehow the seed was not sown. GM built 3, ZR-1s in , 2, in , in and each of the next three years. The high price of the package was a significant factor, but GM devalued the model with several bonehead moves.
So should you buy a ZR-1? It depends if you will drive it. The flexible engines are a blast to drive, with maximum power delivered at 5, rpm. The ZR-1 is competitive with European supercars of the time and the maintenance is a bargain by comparison. There are a number of ZR-1s on the market at any given time, and while low mileage trailer queens may have seal issues, regularly exercised cars should be fine.
Some unique spares could be problematic, as production was limited windshields are different, for example.
0コメント