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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Scott Burgess
Super 'Vette: It's out of this world
MILFORD -- Times are tough. Gas prices are high. Housing prices are low. And the car market is collapsing faster than a Jenga tower after six vodka shots.
America needs a superhero.
And when the next caped crusader arrives, he will screech onto the scene in a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. This car is Bat-tastic! It has more torque than a locomotive (well, a small one). It's faster than a speeding Bullitt and, if you construct the right ramp, it can leap the tallest building (around Milford) in a single bound.
This car is awesome. It should come with red go-go boots and a cape. Really, it's more than the sum total of all the superlatives you know. It's Superman, Batman, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four combined -- with a touch of stone-fisted Hellboy tossed into the mix.
Here's why: The all-new 6.2-liter supercharged LS9. It's a V-8 that produces 638 horsepower. Go back and read that again. On the extreme other side of Chevy, it would take six 2008 Aveos to almost generate the same power as a single ZR1.
It also creates 604 pound-feet of torque (544 pound-feet at 2,600 rpm). If you toughened up the rear end on a ZR1, you could rip tree stumps out of the ground.
Everything about this engine, which is hand-built in Wixom, is impressive. There's the Roots type supercharger with a four-lobe rotor design (I don't know what the means either, but it sounds cool). It's mated to a charged cooling system that lowers the temperature of the air going into the cylinders by 140 degrees (I do know that cooler air carries more fuel and improves performance).
Then there are the titanium connecting rods, the aluminum block, and the 10.5-quart dry sump that will keep pushing oil as the car wrenches your body through turns with G forces found on other planets.
In other words: It's out of this world.
Stronger than steel
The car's body is as advanced as the engine. The hood, front fenders and roof are all made of lightweight carbon fiber, which is stronger than steel. Carbon fiber is to new Corvettes what fiberglass is to old ones. It makes the shape of the body and, now, gives it incredible strength. The roof pieces are actually left in their natural black and gray weave; I would have painted them.
But it's not just raw power -- the ZR1 comes with a split personality. On the track, it's incredible. The magnetic suspension -- a supercar breakthrough that can almost instantly adjust a car's shocks -- monitors the car's pitch, yaw and direction, helping the custom-designed Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires claw into the road.
Few cars scare me, but on the track the ZR1 would intimidate the fiercest amateur driver. It should come with a free pair of Depends. Even on my best lap, that one where you think you know what you're doing, I knew the ZR1 was never really tested. That's why every person who buys the ZR1 will be offered free professional instruction at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Arizona -- of course, that "free" is worked into the car's $104,000 price tag.
On regular roads, the ZR1 lurks like a wolf in sheep's carbon fiber body panels. Only its low ground clearance (less than 5 inches) made me wonder if it could make it into my driveway. Everything else says daily driver. The ride is smooth and the raw power requires a heavier foot. If you take a mild mannered approach, clicking through the velvet smooth six-speed manual gearbox, this car is all Clark Kent -- never angry, overbearing or impersonal.
But just below the clear coat is a beast. Gun it and it's like you split Dr. Bruce Banner's lip. The transformation is instant as the engine's note changes from alto to angry bass roarrrr.
There's something about driving such a machine that tends to make me go slower. The very fact I am at the helm of a car that can start at a red light and have me hitting 60 mph in 3.4 seconds gives me an inner peace. There's no need to show off, I tell myself. I have superpowers. I can hit 205 mph if I really want to. Try that with (insert car name here).
And people will know this is a ZR1. The polycarbonate window on the hood, showing off the car's cool blue intercooler, is probably the first giveaway. Then there is the subtle ZR1 badging on the fenders and the back of the car.
Nothing is over the top, but there's something menacing and sinister about this car. With its headlights encased in glass, huge air intakes, and the extended hood stretching back to that steep windshield, this car ripples with confidence.
Even the double vents coming out of the front fender are unique to the car. There's no need to exaggerate if you're the ZR1; you're a living hyperbole.
Comfort and luxury
The ZR1 has a clean and Corvette-consistent interior. Wrapped in leather, the dash, steering wheel and seats provide comfort -- as part of the luxury package, the leather comes in four colors. The luxury package (one of only two options; the other one is chrome wheels) includes heated seats, a premium Bose stereo system, a navigation system and Bluetooth connectivity for dolts who want to talk on the phone while driving; hang up, buddy, and hang on. This car was made for driving.
There are other nice touches, such as aluminum pedals, ZR1 sill plates, embroidered ZR1 in the headrest and the boost gauge in the heads-up display, but I don't want to bore you with minutiae that will make no difference in someone buying this car. People buy this to go fast. And the ZR1 excels at it.
It's also a role model.
How does a supercar that achieves a mere 14 miles per gallon in the city -- much lower if you're having fun -- become the paradigm for the automotive world?
Allow me to scoot my soapbox over here.
Easy. The ZR1 exemplifies lightweight building, stretching the limits of what companies can do with carbon fiber -- a material that will allow many more cars to become lighter and more efficient down the road. It takes bigger contracts for carbon fiber costs to go down. The ZR1 is a start.
New computer modeling allowed engineers to finely tune the mother of all small blocks and reliably predict how it would perform with unprecedented accuracy. Some of the design changes made to the 6.2-liter block (making it 20 percent stronger) have already been implemented on all of General Motors Corp.'s 2009 truck engines.
Small volume supercar programs -- such as the ZR1 -- put some of GM's smartest folks around the table to wrestle with problems such as creating 100 horsepower for every liter of displacement or building a suspension system that adjusts to potholes in milliseconds or creating an electronic stability control system that can save me from myself on the track. Certainly, when I was on the track behind the wheel of the ZR1, it saved me from myself.
The ZR1 is nearly the perfect machine, and, during tough times, we could all use something superheroic.
Scott Burgess is the auto critic for The Detroit News. He can be reached at (313) 223-3217 or sburgess@detnews.com.
Scott Burgess
Super 'Vette: It's out of this world
MILFORD -- Times are tough. Gas prices are high. Housing prices are low. And the car market is collapsing faster than a Jenga tower after six vodka shots.
America needs a superhero.
And when the next caped crusader arrives, he will screech onto the scene in a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. This car is Bat-tastic! It has more torque than a locomotive (well, a small one). It's faster than a speeding Bullitt and, if you construct the right ramp, it can leap the tallest building (around Milford) in a single bound.
This car is awesome. It should come with red go-go boots and a cape. Really, it's more than the sum total of all the superlatives you know. It's Superman, Batman, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four combined -- with a touch of stone-fisted Hellboy tossed into the mix.
Here's why: The all-new 6.2-liter supercharged LS9. It's a V-8 that produces 638 horsepower. Go back and read that again. On the extreme other side of Chevy, it would take six 2008 Aveos to almost generate the same power as a single ZR1.
It also creates 604 pound-feet of torque (544 pound-feet at 2,600 rpm). If you toughened up the rear end on a ZR1, you could rip tree stumps out of the ground.
Everything about this engine, which is hand-built in Wixom, is impressive. There's the Roots type supercharger with a four-lobe rotor design (I don't know what the means either, but it sounds cool). It's mated to a charged cooling system that lowers the temperature of the air going into the cylinders by 140 degrees (I do know that cooler air carries more fuel and improves performance).
Then there are the titanium connecting rods, the aluminum block, and the 10.5-quart dry sump that will keep pushing oil as the car wrenches your body through turns with G forces found on other planets.
In other words: It's out of this world.
Stronger than steel
The car's body is as advanced as the engine. The hood, front fenders and roof are all made of lightweight carbon fiber, which is stronger than steel. Carbon fiber is to new Corvettes what fiberglass is to old ones. It makes the shape of the body and, now, gives it incredible strength. The roof pieces are actually left in their natural black and gray weave; I would have painted them.
But it's not just raw power -- the ZR1 comes with a split personality. On the track, it's incredible. The magnetic suspension -- a supercar breakthrough that can almost instantly adjust a car's shocks -- monitors the car's pitch, yaw and direction, helping the custom-designed Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires claw into the road.
Few cars scare me, but on the track the ZR1 would intimidate the fiercest amateur driver. It should come with a free pair of Depends. Even on my best lap, that one where you think you know what you're doing, I knew the ZR1 was never really tested. That's why every person who buys the ZR1 will be offered free professional instruction at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Arizona -- of course, that "free" is worked into the car's $104,000 price tag.
On regular roads, the ZR1 lurks like a wolf in sheep's carbon fiber body panels. Only its low ground clearance (less than 5 inches) made me wonder if it could make it into my driveway. Everything else says daily driver. The ride is smooth and the raw power requires a heavier foot. If you take a mild mannered approach, clicking through the velvet smooth six-speed manual gearbox, this car is all Clark Kent -- never angry, overbearing or impersonal.
But just below the clear coat is a beast. Gun it and it's like you split Dr. Bruce Banner's lip. The transformation is instant as the engine's note changes from alto to angry bass roarrrr.
There's something about driving such a machine that tends to make me go slower. The very fact I am at the helm of a car that can start at a red light and have me hitting 60 mph in 3.4 seconds gives me an inner peace. There's no need to show off, I tell myself. I have superpowers. I can hit 205 mph if I really want to. Try that with (insert car name here).
And people will know this is a ZR1. The polycarbonate window on the hood, showing off the car's cool blue intercooler, is probably the first giveaway. Then there is the subtle ZR1 badging on the fenders and the back of the car.
Nothing is over the top, but there's something menacing and sinister about this car. With its headlights encased in glass, huge air intakes, and the extended hood stretching back to that steep windshield, this car ripples with confidence.
Even the double vents coming out of the front fender are unique to the car. There's no need to exaggerate if you're the ZR1; you're a living hyperbole.
Comfort and luxury
The ZR1 has a clean and Corvette-consistent interior. Wrapped in leather, the dash, steering wheel and seats provide comfort -- as part of the luxury package, the leather comes in four colors. The luxury package (one of only two options; the other one is chrome wheels) includes heated seats, a premium Bose stereo system, a navigation system and Bluetooth connectivity for dolts who want to talk on the phone while driving; hang up, buddy, and hang on. This car was made for driving.
There are other nice touches, such as aluminum pedals, ZR1 sill plates, embroidered ZR1 in the headrest and the boost gauge in the heads-up display, but I don't want to bore you with minutiae that will make no difference in someone buying this car. People buy this to go fast. And the ZR1 excels at it.
It's also a role model.
How does a supercar that achieves a mere 14 miles per gallon in the city -- much lower if you're having fun -- become the paradigm for the automotive world?
Allow me to scoot my soapbox over here.
Easy. The ZR1 exemplifies lightweight building, stretching the limits of what companies can do with carbon fiber -- a material that will allow many more cars to become lighter and more efficient down the road. It takes bigger contracts for carbon fiber costs to go down. The ZR1 is a start.
New computer modeling allowed engineers to finely tune the mother of all small blocks and reliably predict how it would perform with unprecedented accuracy. Some of the design changes made to the 6.2-liter block (making it 20 percent stronger) have already been implemented on all of General Motors Corp.'s 2009 truck engines.
Small volume supercar programs -- such as the ZR1 -- put some of GM's smartest folks around the table to wrestle with problems such as creating 100 horsepower for every liter of displacement or building a suspension system that adjusts to potholes in milliseconds or creating an electronic stability control system that can save me from myself on the track. Certainly, when I was on the track behind the wheel of the ZR1, it saved me from myself.
The ZR1 is nearly the perfect machine, and, during tough times, we could all use something superheroic.
Scott Burgess is the auto critic for The Detroit News. He can be reached at (313) 223-3217 or sburgess@detnews.com.
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