GM Says No Corvette ZR1 on the Radar: Is the C7 Z06 Too Good?

By Manuel Carrillo III - January 14, 2014

Chevrolet Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter has told Autoblog there are currently no plans to introduce a C7 Corvette ZR1. What a cop-out. This is almost as bad as hearing all future holidays are canceled.

Here’s what Autoblog is reporting:

“Introducing a ZR1 halo car above the upcoming Z06, which is due at the end of the year, would require significant investment in design, testing and certification – for negligible performance gains. It appears that Chevy is choosing to focus on the Z06 for now, and wait for the next great technological leap before investing in another ZR1.”

“Saying there’d be negligible gains between a Z06 and ZR1 discounts the progress made since the C6 ZR1 was introduced.”

First of all, the Corvette is a rolling test bed for GM innovation. Any investment in the Corvette is a trickle-down investment in the rest of GM, just like the Bugatti Veyron is a technological investment for all of Volkswagen Group. Also, saying there would be negligible performance gains between a Z06 and ZR1 sounds like a cop out, and discounts the progress that’s been made since the C6 ZR1 was introduced in 2008.

If it was possible six years ago for GM to sell a 638-horsepower car with a warranty, then it is possible for the automaker to introduce a 700-horsepower C7 ZR1—especially in an era when you can get a Mustang with 662 horsepower.

The springs in my legendarily accurate bullshit meter are about to pop through the display glass. It’d be foolish to think anything is really off the table especially given the response Juechter gave one gearhead about a potential C7 ZR1 in a Q&A session over on Jalopnik.

Is the Z06 too good for there to be a C7 Corvette ZR1? Discuss in the forums! >>