glass slipper

My sister-in-law was in town from Colombia and this was her first time seeing my car. Being a little bit of a daredevil, she of course wanted a ride to see what it could do. We live in a resort area very close to the beach/bay with a lot of restaurants with outside waterfront tables across the street from the restaurants. To warm the car up, I took it for a drive down that street and got a lot of stares as we went by. It was a dead end street so I turned around and was going back by all the people sitting waterfront. Just as I got to a large group, they all stood up, came to the edge of the road, and gave us an ovation/thumbs up as I drove by...they loved the blue beast.

I took it to a car show in March and it was hit, there was a large crowd constantly around the car the whole time I was there. The guys loved the engine and the women loved the color. I let kids from about 4-15 sit in it so their parents could take a picture, they had a blast! It was mainly a Mustang/Camaro show and I felt a little guilty for stealing their thunder, people mostly just walked by those cars. There was a C5 right next to me and he didn't draw the crowds either. I will admit I cheated a little, I was the only one with my hood up.

This is my car enjoying life in Spain in front of our house:



The little Opel Tigra next to is actually a convertible and was my daily driver until I gave it to my oldest stepdaughter last month. It was a lot of fun to zip around town in with the top down. It has a 1.3 L diesel engine with a whopping 69 HP...what it lacks in performance it makes up for in gas mileage, my best was 70 MPG and my worst was 55 MPG. Can you imagine 12 gallons taking you 840 miles? Insane!

Thanks for taking the time to read my story, the ZR-1 is just another C4 in the states but I get treated like a rock star in Spain...it's just nice to see the car appreciated for what it is.

DRM500RUBYZR-1

Great story!
Thanks for sharing and glad that you are spreading the ZR-1 religion in Spain.
You are a long time active and supportive member, and it is nice to see that the ZR-1 still does it for you!
I am 25 years into ZR-1's and almost 20 into the current one, and I still love it as well!
Keep enjoying life, family, and that Super-car!
Marty

Tom400CFI

Nice to see you post on the forum!

And I dig that people are digging your car. Very cool.

You neglected to tell us what your SIL's reaction was...once it was warmed up!

1971 Judge

I'm glad you took the time to share this; love it when others (especially those across the pond) can appreciate what we know and love. Enjoy it! Your car is a very nice example.

glass slipper

She's the typical Latina constantly talking so I can sum up her reaction best by saying a couple of runs through 1st-2nd resulted in dead silence and wide eyes. Lol She's never experienced a high performance car plus she lives in Bogota which is at 8000'-9000' elevation where the 100 HP of the typical car there is knocked down to maybe 60 HP. But it never scared her so bad that she screamed or anything, she really enjoyed everything about the car. Her favorite was the standing ovation we got, she was telling everybody about it in her typical very animated way...she's too funny. My wife is the exact opposite, she gets scared at anything over .1G acceleration.

I don't get the chance to post as much as I'd like to, the op-tempo here is pretty intense with the ships we have and their mission. Whenever you read about the Russians harassing a DDG in the Black Sea, it's one from Rota, Spain. They're BMD ships that provide ballistic missile defense for Europe and it pisses the Russians off to know we're that close and can knock out a missile fired by them before it ever gets very far. BTW, none of the above is classified info...it's all over the internet.

I've been relieved from my job as I prepare to transfer out of Spain in 3 weeks so I have some time on my hands, it feels so strange not working 10-12 hours every day. My next stop is Bahrain, a little island nation in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia. I'll be taking over as the Deputy Chief Engineer over the entire 5th and 6th fleets as well as the 14 ships stationed in Bahrain. I'll be there for 2 years before coming back to the states...or maybe I'll return to Spain as the Chief Engineer for a few years depending on how I do in Bahrain.

On a race note, Bahrain has a fantastic race track where they just had the Formula 1 race last month. They have really fast "go-karts" you can rent, open track days, and a drag strip...it's really a great facility and I hope I have time to experience everything at the track. Check it out here:

https://bahraingp.com/

Arctic91

Glass Slipper,

Small world... I am the current N39 Director at CNE-CNA-C6F (cars in storage in the states, since drivers in Naples cannot be trusted) and I spent about 6 years of my career in Rota ('91-'93, and again from '95-'98) at the NSGA and flying with VQ-2 before they relocated to Washington state. Congrats on the successful assignment, follow-on orders, and best of luck to you in Bahrain.

Cheers,
Scott

FASTAZU

Great story, Nice to see you are enjoying your ZR-1 across the pond.

G-Sting

Awesome story, glass slipper. Always exciting when others appreciate the Z! Even in Spain.

All the best... and God bless... in your US Navy service. Thank you.

GTB/ZR-1

Wow, Richard--how cool!

Pls be careful in Bahrain & safe travels!

Tom400CFI

That's awesome. If you get the Z on that track....VIDS!