Car and Driver Renders the 2018 Corvette ZR1 and Names it the No.1 Car Worth Waiting For

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Car and Driver Renders the 2018 Corvette ZR1 and Names it the No.1 Car Worth Waiting For

Photo Credit: Car and Driver


This month in Car and Driver’s April 2017 magazine, the lead story is “25 Cars Worth Waiting For” and to help sell the magazine is a rendered illustration of the 2018 Corvette ZR1.

The cover also features a couple other cars worth waiting for, specifically, the Kia Stinger and Alfa Romeo Stelvio, but who are we kidding here. It’s the ZR1 on the cover that will sell this month’s issue and Car and Driver rightfully made this the #1 car out of the 25 listed that are worth waiting for.

April 2017 Car and Driver Magazine


Corvettes at Car and Driver fall under the domain of Don Sherman, the magazine’s technical editor and a Corvette owner with a black 1967 big block in his garage. Don offers a couple of pages of mostly recapping what we previously know – the 2018 Corvette ZR1 will serve as the send-off for the C7 generation. Whether that’s in one or two years, or up to four or five is currently being speculated.

Also speculated is the 750 horsepower that the car is expected to have on tap thanks to a new DOHC V8 based on the 6.2L Generation V engine. The 750 hp figure tends to almost always reference the 700-hp Dodge Hellcat and it receives a mention in the article as well. Here is Don’s take on how the 2018 Corvette ZR1’s power will be created:

With a tip of its hat to the Dodge Hellcats for smashing the 700-hp ceiling, the 2018 Corvette ZR1 should make 750 or so horsepower from the current 6.2 liters. The additional power comes courtesy of larger intercoolers and more air from the Eaton supercharger, with an assist from retuned direct fuel injection and variable valve timing. Based on our surveillance, the new ZR1 will be offered in both coupe and convertible body styles. We’re expecting a choice between a seven-speed Tremec manual transmission and GM’s eight-speed automatic.

Don does believe the MSRP for the new Corvette will be at the upper-end of the pricing spectrum. The good news? While super car enthusiasts would routinely pay upwards of $490,000 for a Ferrari F12 tdf, this is a Chevrolet we’re talking about so Don says divide that price by three which is “the correction factor that typically applies when Chevy combines prancing-horse performance with everyday value“. That new math will get you an MSRP of $135,624. With the C6 generation ZR1 previously selling with an MSRP at $113,575 we think that’s probably a pretty accurate range for the new King of the Hill.

Car and Driver Renders the 2018 Corvette ZR1 and Names it the No.1 Car Worth Waiting For

Photo Credit: Car and Driver


So how much longer will we have to wait for the 2018 Corvette ZR1? Hard to say with the pending assembly plant shutdown throwing a wrench into 2018 Corvette production. It’s a 50-50 bet that the Corvette team will even acknowledge the ZR1 at next’s months new model roll-out at the NCM Bash. Others, including Don Sherman, think the public reveal may come during one of the stops on Corvette Racing’s schedule, notably the early August date at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.

All we can say is stay tuned because the 2018 Corvette ZR1 IS a car worth waiting for!


Source:
Car and Driver

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