2018 Corvette ZR1 makes global debut in the UAE The all-new Corvette ZR1 makes its global debut ahead of Dubai motor show, in, er,…
2018 Corvette ZR1 makes global debut in the UAE
The all-new Corvette ZR1 makes its global debut ahead of Dubai motor show, in, er, Dubai. And with 750 horsepower, it is as mental as you’d expect
There are a few amalgams of numbers and letters in the car world that strike on mere mention and make you sit up and take notice. Things like GTO, EVO 6.5,22B and S14, for instance… That’s the language of enthusiasts, and in their speak ZR1 is an epithet for the angriest Chevrolet Corvette money can buy.
With the latest-generation Corvette taking a slight dip in sales recently (in the US Chevy sold 34,000 ‘Vettes in 2014, but last year the number was less than 30,000) Chevrolet needed to do something to get back in the headlines and fight for relevancy in the sports car market. And when you bring 750 horsepower to that fight in the 2018 Corvette ZR1, you’re doing alright.
The 2018 Corvette ZR1, armed with an LT5 V8 engine rated at 750bhp and over 920Nm of torque, made its world debut this week at an exclusive event in Dubai ahead of the 2017 Dubai motor show, which opens to the public on November 14. With a supercharger able to squeeze in 52 percent more air than the one in the Corvette Z06, the ZR1’s engine ended up being nearly three inches taller, hence a pretty sizable bonnet bulge. We’re sure it’s just happy to see you.
Besides outrageous power, Corvette engineers also focussed heavily on aerodynamics to reign it all in, as you can probably tell by the size of that rear wing. With manual adjustment, the wing can be set-up to create some 250kg of downforce at the rear at the car’s top speed.
Of course besides just power and the aero tweaks, the ZR1 also gets exclusive lightweight wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, plus specific tuning to the adaptive suspension. As for the contrasting body accents, they’re done in exposed carbon fibre, and the entire front end with that gaping grille is unique to the ZR1 — the huge intakes are necessary for the extra four radiators in the nose.
Chevrolet’s engineers claim the ZR1 is 2.5 seconds quicker than the Corvette Z06 around a race track (the 5.2km-long Virginia International Raceway to be specific), and pricing for the US at least should start from around AED440,000.
Tags: 2018, Chevrolet Corvette, Dubai Motor Show, Sports car, zr1
