Racy new Corvette ZR1 propels 'America's Sports Car' into whole new league

By JIM GORZELANY

Tuesday, October 28th 2008, 1:55 PM

Although budget-busting gasoline prices are boosting sales of more-economical autos these days, sports cars still reign supreme in the hearts and minds of the automotive industry. Mass-market models such as the Toyota Camry or Ford Focus contribute more to a manufacturer's bottom line, but it's the sleekest, quickest cars in the showroom that make our hearts race, and often help sell more-mundane models in the process.

One of the most-anticipated sports cars in recent memory, the new-for-2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, takes "America's Sports Car" to stratospheric levels of performance. It also takes the venerable 'Vette beyond the six-figure barrier for the first time in its 55-year history. The price is a staggering $102,450.

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"The ZR1 brings Corvette into the exotic car category in terms of performance and provides a 'halo car' for both the line and the brand," says George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Group, a research firm based in Tustin, Calif. "It takes Corvette out of the 'Joe Lunchbucket' category and into a more sophisticated market segment."

The Corvette's new top model represents the second coming of the original ZR1, nicknamed "King of the Hill," which was sold from 1990 through 1995. That version was essentially an option package - nicknamed "ZR1," of course - which added more than $27,000 to the cost of an otherwise $32,000 car. It packed a 375-horsepower aluminum-block V8 engine that was built by Mercury Marine (it saw duty on the water as well as the road) and notched a blazing, for the time, 4.9 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph.

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Fast forward to 2009 and marvel at what less than two decades of automotive advancements have wrought. The 2009 ZR1's new engine, a hand-built "LS9" 6.2-liter supercharged small-block V8, produces a breathtaking 638 hp - 70 percent more powerful than the original. Chevy claims the car can reach 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds (thanks to a six-speed manual gearbox that drives the rear wheels) and reach an outrageously illegal top speed of 205 mph.

The ZR1 is priced more than $30,000 higher than the next most-expensive Corvette, the 500-hp Z06, and costs in excess of $55,000 more than the still-speedy base car. Still, industry observers insist it remains true to the Corvette's heritage as an "affordable" sports car. With the ZR1, the frame of reference has been, as chef Emeril Lagasse would say, kicked up a notch.