[1]The past six months have been a wonderland for Corvette fans around the world.
From “Super” C7 ZR1s, multi-valve motor rumors, and mid-engine dreams materializing, these are the golden years for Corvette.
What we’ll see in the next 18 months arguably will be hazy mythology for buff books and click bait for decades. What a great time to be not only a Corvette fan, but a General Motors supporter as well, see SS/ZL1 Camaro, V-Series Cadillacs et al.
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2018 C7 ZR1 convertible running around in the wild somewhere in suburbia...
Their have been so many wiggly YouTube vids of the swirly camo’d C7 ZR1 that they are almost ho-hum now.
Don’t get complacent just yet though.
According to Don Sherman, veteran Car and Driver scribe, he says the ZR1 should debut at Continental Tire Road Race Showcase IMSA event at Road America [5].
That’s this weekend folks!
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Continental Tire Road Race Showcase IMSA event at Road America 2016
There has been much speculation of what the final specs will be on the car. As we have mentioned before, the 2018 C7 ZR1 will be to the Z06 what the Camaro ZL1 1LE is to a base ZL1. [8]
We’ve been following closely and combined with our network of other enthusiasts and industry watchers, we’re certain the following are the final specs of the new 2018 ZR1 Corvette.
[9]A good look at new hood bulge and what looks like cowl induction. Are fenders wider too or stock Z06 units?
- Pushrod supercharged V-8 engine–with big displacement 2650cc blower–with 750-800 horsepower. We aren’t saying that a DOHC motor isn’t on the way, we just think it’ll debut as a “double-whammy” with mid-engine model.
- Running gear upgrades mirroring Camaro ZL1 1LE – Multimatic shocks, bigger sway bars, revised, track focused suspension tweaks, and sticky, gumball Goodyear rubber.
- Active Aero – we’ll see two versions of this “heat sink” killer technology. We’ve all seen the “big wing, little wing” mules in the videos so expect two flavors of high tech cooling plumage to choose from.
- Revised styling from A-pillar forward including hi-rise hood bulge, revise front fascia and unique from fender vent/badging.
- Braking is where the ZR1 and 1LE Camaro sibling will diverge. Count on the ZR1 to have the Z07 carbon disc brakes as standard equipment, while little brother pony car relies solely on non-ceramic Brembo brakes.
- Interior will mostly be carry over but with specific badging and all of the bespoke factory options we’ve come to expect over the last few years.
- Available in Coupe or Convertible
- Expect both a seven-speed manual and General Motors‘ new 10-speed automatic it developed in conjunction with Ford to make an appearance.
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Just sittin' in traffic minding it's own business. Dig new era Continental up front too.
Finally, how long is the C7 for this world? Rumors have it that the car will be Corvette’s front engine, rear drive “swan song” and will fade away after the mid-engine model debuts. Other reports say the car will soldier on until 2021 or so.
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If we don’t see the ZR1 this weekend, we think it will appear at the 2018 NAIAS in Detroit. As we all know, Bowling Green shutdown for plant upgrades August 1st, and will reopen in November which would be just in time to crank out some new ZR1 and show ’em off at the first of the year…