755bhp Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 2018 revealed in Dubai
The most ferocious version of the Corvette ever is released right here in the UAE and will get its public debut at the Dubai Motor Show
By Shahzad Sheikh
The fastest, most powerful ever production Corvette has been unleashed on the world, not from Detroit, but from Dubai. It’s not very often we get a global launch in the UAE, and if you’re attending the Dubai Motor Show, you will be the first people to see new 2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 in the metal.
The headline figures, as anticipated, are 755bhp and 715lb ft of torque from a 6.2-litre V8 LT5 Gen 5 motor, hand built in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And whilst acceleration figures have not yet been revealed, in a special briefing Motoring Middle East attended this morning, we were told that it would be ‘over 210mph’ (378kph).
The engine gets a new Eaton Supercharger that has 52% more displacement than the Z06’s LT4 supercharger. It gets duel injection, with primary direct injection and supplemental port injection.
There’s a whole new front on the car that’s wider, not just to accommodate this mighty motor, but to make space for four radiators and 13 heat-exchangers to keep things cool in here. Plus of course those massive gaping air intakes at the front, plus the carbon-trimed side vents. There’s even intakes on the rear wings.
The 1615kg track-focussed, but totally road-legal and street-ready Vette, comes with either a 7-speed manual or an 8-speed paddleshift auto – not the 10-speed auto from the ZL1 because it doesn’t fit.
On the back is a racecar-like ‘High Wing’ spoiler (although a low-wing version will also be revealed at the Los Angeles car show) which is manually adjustable by 5 degrees and can more than double the downforce to over 400kg at top speed. It’s part of the ZTK Performance Package, which includes a front splitter.
The Low Wing delivers the high top speed, but still generates 70% more downforce than the Z06 in base trim. And all models get a front underwing to keep the nose planted to the ground too – another Corvette first.
The styling of the car is heavily influenced by the need to control the air flow around the car and cooling for the engine and drivetrain – but also to accommodate the engine. The bonnet is bulging by 75mm, and part of the bonnet is actually the top of the supercharger/intercooler – a hark-back to shaker hoods of old!
Of course the Vette ZR1 gets magna ride suspension, performance traction management, electronic Limited Slip Differential, and is shod with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 summer-only tyres. There are 19-inch wheels on the front and 20-inch wheels on the back. Carbon Ceramic brakes are standard, and there’s also a new (patent-pending) exhaust hardware set-up that is said to not only by adjustable from not too anti-social to the loudest most aggressive note ever, but the transition is now progressive!
The debut car at the show is presented in the Sebring Orange Design Package with orange brake callipers, rocker and splitter accents, seat belts, and interior stitching to match the exterior paintwork as well as bronze aluminium interior trim. Inside there’s standard leather-trimmed sports seats with suede inserts, carbon-fibre rimmed steering wheel, Bose sound system and a data recorded.
The new 2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 goes on sale in the US in Spring next year.
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