ColaBear

Looks like 95/96 side panels so not completely stock (or updated to 94 as later stated)??

pologreen1

I was not even going to read this since I too think the price is high, but maybe it shows the economy in toys is improving.

But after seeing people comment about some guy writing this article and making comments like "it's just another '94" make me question why he is picked to be writing anything that is documented on the net as a car nut forum?

This can only make me assume this person knows nothing about ALL of the differences between a Zr1 C4 and the rest of the C4s.

That car is the real investment and real performance car. A C5 is nothing unless it's a LPE car or something. I am saying that in regards to a Z06 too. The '09 ZR1 is the first thing since the '90's version that has been something so outrageous.

I am not even a vette guy and I think that is a ridiculous statement and a person writing for a forum should be held up to a much higher expectation of the car hobby he writes for at the least.

This is not Youtube comment land, this is a place where people come to get knowledge and educated opinions.

rocco16

"So, Chevy puts in a foreign designed engine instead of developing their own and that makes it a milestone for 'Merica and Corvette history?"
Chevy stopped selling smallblocks in 1990??

I want my money back...

ZR1Bob

I have been watching this thread for a while and I am intrigued by the diversity of opinions on this 94 ZR-1. Pricing of cars is subject to the market. As they say in real estate contracts, "a willing buyer and a willing seller" are all that's needed for a sale. And value is in the eye of the beholder. The advertised car sounds like it is very cheap for what it is, but who has seen it? History? Accidents? Clear title? etc. If its condition is great and it is what a buyer wants then it will sell. I have a very late production '95 listed here for sale with 32k miles on it and priced at more than twice the price of that car. But there are significant reasons for that and if the combination of one of the last ZR-1s produced, great condition and history, and more than $20,000 of Marc Haibeck improvements at a big discount are what a buyer is seeking, then it will sell at a higher price. Depends heavily on what a buyer is seeking and what a seller is offering. One of the worst things a buyer can do is buy the cheapest car and then discover why it was so cheap when he gets it home. --Bob

Greg Gore

I'd be concerned a potential buyer could find a 2006 Z06 with better performance for about the same amount of money. Another concern is the ZR-1's performance which made it King of the Hill a long time ago is not really that unusual anymore. A street rodding kid could get a few add-ons from the Internet for his C5 which would top it and he has a car he won't have to search through collector stashes to find parts for. The 90's are qualifying for "horseless carriage" tags now aren't they?

Aaron71771

Never owned a ZR-1 eh? There is more to them than what the numbers are on paper. You can make a prius C7 fast if you have the urge.

When you push a ZR-1 to 7000rpms and hear the full chorus of those 32 valves there is not much like it in the Corvette world. Yeah, its not the fastest or the latest and options exist to go faster for less on a better platform - but if that's all the ZR-1 is to you, then you just don't get the ZR-1. no judgement - there is a corvette for every taste.

For me, the ZR-1 is the best looking vette ever made and it has never disappointed me.

1993C4LT1

C6 Z06 for $20k?? C5's are every where. Not like a ZR-1 is slow anyways.

pushrod-v8

Show me a 2006 C6 ZO6 with the same miles for $20k.

There is always somebody faster, but the ZR-1 is awesome that it makes over 400HP from the factory, simple porting and exhaust is another 50+ HP and the car idles very smooth. No lopey cam at all.

Parts are easily available too.

That car is a good buy in my opinion.

Greg Gore

I didn't say 2006 Z06 for $20K I was replying to the post just above. Lets review:

bb62

Greg, A few points:

1. If performance for money were the only thing driving the value of Corvettes, then my lowly 67 435HP coupe wouldn't be worth 4 to 5 times that of just about any C6 Z06.

2. These days, unless you are prepared to track your Corvette, anything from the C4 ZR-1 to the new C7 Z06 would be roughly as fast for today's road conditions. Try jumping out of a Corvette (any Corvette) and into an open wheel race car and you will see what I mean.

3. The ZR-1 is a more historically significant car than the C5 or C6 vehicles given that it is the first Corvette to recapture significant performance since the late 60s vehicles.

4. The ZR-1 LT5 is arguably the best looking engine ever put into a Corvette. As as already mentioned, the 4 cam has an ability to smoothly rev in a way that the LS (and new LT) motors simply can't achieve. That is not to say that it is the fastest or the "best", but it is unique in the Corvette world in a way that makes the car very special.

zr1fred

Well said.

ZR1Bob

Agree on all points and as noted above, well said.

I especially agree about the engine. I often tell people that this was one of the last engines made, possibly the last, that seems intended to be looked at from a design standpoint. One really wants to open the hood and show it off; all the new ones have plastic covers. And remember the ZR-1 was the highest horsepower, most expensive car sold by General Motors between 1990 and 1995, set high speed endurance records that stood for many years (175 mph for 24 hours, etc.) and was a very limited production car, especially the 93-95s with only 448 made each year, about 2% of total production. Pretty special car. Very drivable and many of us even race them in 1/4 and 1/2mile events. Surprised they are not more sought after; they probably will become so after I sell mine though. --Bob

roadbike56

I wish I had a space for another Corvette. If I did, I'd like to get a later model C4, and if I did, it would probably be polo green. Getting a ZR-1 for $20K would be a dream come true. That's the car everyone crowds around and drools at car shows.
Don't know what the editor was thinking (or not thinking) with those comments about that ZR-1. Pissing off the forum members comes under the heading of "Poor Communication" during performance review time.

Greg Gore

There was a time, closer to the time of the ZR-1's hey day, when I seriously considered getting one but there's a lot of water over that dam now, times have changed, technology has increased and improved each year and that desire has decidedly faded over time. The ZR-1 was all about performance on steroids at its 1990 debut, the beast they called it, and king of the hill which it rightly earned by setting numerous records and up to then there had never been anything like it. The ZR-1 meant factory high performance was alive and well again after nearly 20 years of nothing but federally mandated smog motors which back then 200hp was a big deal. I bought a new 84 with Z51 when the first came out and it had what, 205hp? At least you could get 300hp standard in a Corvette again by 1992. In 2001 we got the Z06 with 385hp, bumped to 405 for 02 and then finally a 427 Corvette again with 505hp in 2006. And it doesn't stop there, the 427's will make 1000 hp fairly easy with magazine article parts. We had a couple of them on our dyno when the boss was building his 1000hp 8-spd paddle shift Z06 a few years back. I don't know where it stops, 2000 hp Corvettes with iron LSX blocks are on the street now.

I've had C4s and C5s and I can tell you you don't want to jack one wheel of a C4 off the floor with the roof off but it makes no difference with a C5, even a convertible. Jack a wheel up and the doors still open and close. I look at the ZR-1 now as this incredible engine which should have had a chance to get in the C5 but for whatever reason it didn't happen.

Anybody know why the ZR-1 sales figures dropped each year?

Aaron71771

As you know the C4 chassis was not designed to be a targa top and compromise was made in structural rigidity. Thankfully advances were made in future generations to give us the car we enjoy today - time marches on. I've have my ZR-1 on jack stands and never had problems. Its not like the thing folds in half. How does the chassis compare to sports cars of it's era? Pretty well I'd surmise.

Sales dropped because GM had a case of "not invented here so it's gotta go" and ended development. Enhanced LT5's were made that offered even more horsepower but GM wouldn't have it.

1993C4LT1

LT5 in a C5
Only the C4 clamshell can show it's beauty accurately.

Greg Gore

Depends on whether you're for show or go. The competition would see more round taillights than the Camaro style lights they have to look at now.

BigMac2395

What about this ZR1 on the 'Corvette C4' Facebook page...........

1990 ZR1, 53000 miles, always pampered, garaged, serviced, and maintained. 3 owner car. Extras include the owners manual and "pizza box" given to the purchaser at the dealership. Why look at other C4's for the same asking price for sale, when you can have the King of the Hill! Located in Connecticut, please inbox me if interested. $14,000

ZR1Bob

Greg the most likely reason was price. The base price for the ZR-1 was $36,785 in 1995. The ZR-1 Special Performance Package was $31,258. With a second top ($950), California emissions requirements ($100) and destination ($560) my MSRP was $69,653, when a standard C-4 coupe was half that. In 1993 Chevrolet pulled the plug and no more engines were made; the remaining engines were parceled out at 448 each year for 93, 94 and 95, with some for warranty and parts backup. --Bob

From the ZR-1 Net Registry home page: ZR-1 production totals: 1990, 3,032; 1991: 2,044; 1992: 502; 1993: 448; 1994: 448; 1995: 448. total: 6,922

RUU

Cost.
300HP was "enough" for most buyers from 92-95.
IIRC, LT5 not carried into 96 partially because it couldn't be adapted for OBDII in a cost effective manner.