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Let me start by saying I am hugely grateful to Mike Furman for an absolutely stellar buying experience. This is the 4th C7 I've bought from Mike in the last 4 years and there is a reason I keep going back. The guy knows his stuff and will go above and beyond to make sure you have a great buying experience. I've been on his list a long time and let me say this car is definitely worth the wait.
Now to initial impressions. First, the car is stunning in person. The orange is really bright and I absolutely love the way the blue in the stitching, calipers, and ZR1 emblems contrast with the orange. It is definitely loud but speaking of loud...
Mike had the car already in Sport mode when I got there and he wouldn't let me start it for the first time until he was filming it. Holy Cow this thing is loud! It is definitely louder than the Z06 even in Sport mode. I also love the burble you get when you let off the gas under decel.
Driving this car around is like being a celebrity. Even the little bit I drove today I had teenagers following me or driving next to me taking pictures. Two guys in two different BMWs tried to race me. This is not the car to get if you don't like attention.
As far as driving impressions are concerned after having two Z06s for over 3 years it is very familiar. I've not had a chance to do more than gently accelerate but the power delivery is noticeably smoother. In particular, cruising in 7th at low RPM doesn't feel at all like you are lugging the engine like it did in the Z06. The ride is also noticeably better than the Z06 with the stock suspension controller and it is also noticeably quieter if you are cruising in Tour mode.
Unfortunately it's been raining all day so I don't have any good clean car pic but here are a couple from delivery.
Mike makes the car buying experience a piece of cake...not the case from all dealers that’s for sure...hoping to have a ZR1 delivery day of my own with Mike sooner rather than later...good luck to you and your new ride...
Last edited by Nyvetteguy007; 05-16-2018 at 10:46 PM.
Some more impressions at the end of commute number two in the pouring rain:
1) I do think the clutch is a little stiffer than the Z06. It's not by much but it does seem a little stiffer.
2) The higher hood is a total non-issue. To be honest while it is higher in the back I don't think the site line is any different with the way it slopes down the front.
3) The wing endplates tend to show up in my peripheral vision when I do the over the right shoulder check for a car before changing lanes. The first couple of times it startled me until I realized it was the wing. You sometimes get a reflection of the dotted line down the road off the wing with exacerbates this.
4) I'm having some issues getting the shifter all the way in to first and second gear when cold. This could be because I'm coming from an MGW shifter on the last two Z06s or it could just be break-in.
5) I don't know if they've changed the seat foam or I've just gotten used to it but normally the C7 seats dig in to my thigh until they break in. There were no such issues with the ZR1.
6) I thought I read on the forum that the 1-4 skip shift was eliminated on the ZR1 but that is definitely not the case. It doesn't really bother me and I only hit it a couple of times because I'm trying to go easy during break-in but it is still there.
7) I'll be honest that I didn't think I would like the carbon fiber steering wheel with the alcantara sections. I was wrong. I really like being able to alternate between the smooth cool feeling of the CF and the warm grippy surface of the alcantara. It wins on more than just style points.
8) Finally, my road is a mess much after all the rain much like this video below I took in the Z06 a couple years ago. Surprisingly I have yet to drag the splitter of the car on the road or on the steep transition in to the parking garage at work. Ground clearance seems the same as the 2017 Z06 and better than the 2015 Z06 I had.
05-16-2018, 10:01 PM
Big Thanks to Mike Furman and Initial Impressions
