C4 ZR-1 is a powerful yardstick of Corvette progress.
The 1990s were not the most glamorous days of the automotive industry. Sure, Lotus’s Esprit was a beautiful wedge of a sports car and Aston Martin’s DB7 was a curvy work of art, but the ’90s were also full of vehicles that were either boring or downright hard to look at. Yawn-inducing Chevy Luminas left rental lots to roll onto the road and join jellybean-like Toyota Previa minivans and passionless Geo hatchbacks. With the C4 Corvette ZR-1, Chevrolet showed that it still gave a damn about performance.
Youtuber Saabkyle04 takes the time to locate one and give us a thorough walkthrough of its exterior, interior, and engine in the video above, while sharing many of its key specifications. Chevrolet partnered with Lotus for a variety of the ZR-1’s components, including its four-cam, 32-valve, 5.7-liter LT5 V8. At its peak, the “King of the Hill” (and C4 Corvettes) pumped out 405 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque through a back end that was three inches wider than a regular C4’s rear. Those are pretty healthy numbers considering Ferrari’s V8 sports car of the time, the stunning F355, made only 380 horsepower and 268 lb-ft. Thanks to its outstanding under-the-hood stats, the ZR-1 could get to 60 mph in the low to mid four-second range, zoom down 1,320 feet of pavement in 13.1 seconds, and top out north of 180 mph.
This video came out when the C6 ZR1 was the new King of the Hill with its 638-horsepower supercharged LS9. That got us thinking, Wow, the Corvette has come a long way in only five years. Even 650 horsepower isn’t the peak of Corvette performance. It’s now just mid-range output for America’s sports car. The C7 King of the Hill rules its kingdom with the power of 755 horses.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
