After six long and beautiful generations, the Chevrolet Corvette is just as much a hot commodity as it was in 1953 when the first concept was rolled out for all to see. This American-made sports car comes in four different trims: Standard, Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1.
The standard Corvette and the Grand Sport are both powered by a 6.2L V8 engine that pumps out 430hp and 424 lb-ft of torque. Add the upgraded exhaust system and the models get 436hp and 425 lb-ft of torque. The Grand Sport differentiates itself from the standard model with a few upgrades, Z06 styling cues, and its won gear and rear-axle ratios. The Corvette Z06 is powered by a 7.0L V8 engine producing 505hp and 470 lb-ft of torque and the newer ZR1 boasts a 6.2L supercharged V8 delivering 638hp and 604 lb-ft of torque to the table.
All engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
A week ago, word spread around that the new and reinvented 2012 Nissan GT-R managed to post the fastest Nurburgring lap time among all of the Godzillas that have run a fast lap in the world-famous race circuit. It actually slashed off 2.48 seconds off of the previous best – 7:26.00 seconds - for a GT-R, posting a time of 7:24.22 seconds.
Impressive as the numbers are, the question that a lot of people have been asking is how the 2012 GT-R can compete with the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. While the numbers should be close, we found a ‘top-bottom’ comparison video that should put all the debates to rest.
It runs the full-length of a Nurburgring lap so it’s over seven minutes long. But if you really want to know which sports car holds bragging rights over the other, then the video is a must-see for you.
We’re gonna give you a little spoiler, though. This lap-time showdown between the GT-R and the ZR1 is a lot closer than you think. Check out the video and find out who can lap the Nurburgring faster than the other.
The 2011 ALMS season kicked off with the 12 Hours of Sebring and as expected, the Corvette Racing Team was on hand to partake in all the festivities. In the third episode of the 2011 Track to Street series, the team dives knee deep into preparations leading up to the season-opening race, working 12 hours a day to ensure that their race cars are up to the competition. As is the case with a lot of these races, the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring was chalk full of incidents with the Corvettes getting involved in some heated action in and out of the pit lanes.
In the end, Corvette Racing made an impressive showing in the race, finishing third and fourth in the GT class. The #03 Compuware Corvette C6.R piloted by Tommy Milner, Olivier Beretta, and Antonio Garcia managed to complete 312 laps, finishing 49.294 seconds behind the winning BMW M3 GT. As for the #04 Compuware Corvette C6.R that was driven by Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook, they managed to complete 311 laps, finishing fourth overall.
Despite the eventful race that came with some adversity, the Corvette Racing Team still managed to open the season strong, giving it enough momentum and confidence to remain a strong contender as the 2011 ALMS season continues.
The 2011 Texas Mile event just took place over the weekend and although we were hoping everyone would get by without a scratch on them, eliminating the use of a speed limit kind of makes that nearly impossible. Unfortunately, the driver of the Hinson Motorsports’ Twin Turbo Corvette Z06 got the short end of that stick as he crashed doing 230 mph during the record setting event.
Thankfully, the driver just got up and walked away from it, and has since been released from the hospital. Not much more was said on his injuries, but we are very glad he was okay after his Corvette rolled over before landing back on its wheels. There are rumors suggesting the crash occurred because one of the cars that had made their run before the Corvette had "exploded its clutch leaving shrapnel at the finish line where the crash occurred." The man behind some of the images, Scott Carr, doesn’t think this is impossible. He says, "The car that ran before them seemed ok to me. When the track was cleaned after the accident, it looked like they walked it, and measured the skid; but I did not see them pickup or sweep that area. So I would say it was a no on the clutch rumor from my vantage point."
The Hinson Motorsports Corvette Z06 was tuned to deliver an astronomical 1,428 horsepower at the wheels thanks to a unique rear-mounted twin-turbocharger system, reinforced engine internals, uprated fuel injectors, and a Quaiffe differential. We are just happy the driver is okay and we hope to see this car safely in action again!
There’s no doubt in our minds that the Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful and most successful Corvette ever. But even the best things can be improved a bit, so Chevrolet has decided to offer a few updates for the 2011 model year. On sale at a price of $109,800 ($3,000 more than the previous year), the ZR1 will be offered in two versions: a standard 1ZR and a 3ZR that adds an extra $10k to the sports car’s price.
For 2011, the ZR1 will be offered with two new exterior colors: Inferno Orange and Supersonic Blue. These colors will come with contrasting-color headlamps, an interior custom color stitching, and USB port and input jack included with navigation radio.
Under the hood there is the same LS9 supercharged 6.2 liter V-8 engine rated at 638 HP and 604 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine is backed by an upgraded, stronger six-speed manual transmission and a twin-disc clutch that provide exceptional clamping power. With a curb weight of 3,333 pounds, the Corvette ZR1 makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.4 seconds and can hit a top speed of 205 mph.
UPDATE 03/24/2011: Chevrolet has revealed a new commercial for the 2011 ZR1, and we have to say BMW and Porsche will have plenty to be embarrassed about after watching it. Ouch, that’s got to hurt. Watch the video to see what we’re talking about.
The hotly anticipated release of the Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed game is a week away so it only seems right that we drum up the interest on the game further to ensure that there’s enough hype to justify making a purchase. Of course, a game like this certainly doesn’t need the ‘added’ help considering that the NFS franchise speaks for itself as far as racing games are concerned.
Then again, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a few more previews of the game. The latest to come out of Electronic Arts’ marketing department is a video of Tommy Milner, the driver of the Corvette Racing Team, taking on a hot lap at Laguna SECA while driving his own Corvette C6.R GT1 race car.
The video shows Milner basically flying around Laguna Seca with a lap time that’s as clean as a whistle, including a smooth run around the infamous ‘Corkscrew’. It looked like he could have driven around the lap while eating a bucket of chicken on one hand. That’s the kind of talent he has.
In the end, Milner posted a lap time of 1:21:709, which for a GT1 car is mighty impressive. But if you think it’s not fast enough, you can take a shot at Milner’s time courtesy of the game’s Autolog Challenge and see if you can beat one of the sport’s promising young stars in a lap around Laguna Seca.
