In a “Corvette Madness” Tournament, Which Years/Models Would Earn Your Four #1 Seeds?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! March Madness is officially upon us, and the nationwide collection of car dudes behind your favorite source for up-to-the-minute Corvette news are itching to put on our selection committee hats! There are a lot of “bracket generators” online, and, in the spirit of the season, we played with the idea of fielding the best/most significant/most unique ‘Vette from all 70 years of production in one massive tournament. But, even with the sheer number of notable Corvettes that Chevrolet has released since 1953, we found out rather quickly that the whole thing was pretty much a moot point until somewhere around the “Elite Eight,” the 1 and 2 seeds were just THAT dominant. So, we decided to settle on something less ambitious but ultimately more constructive by naming our individual picks for a hypothetical America’s Sports Car Final Four. Here is what each of the four main players at CB came up with. Be sure to add your picks in the comment section!

This is a great question because there are so many ways you could go with it. If we were actually building a bracket, we would have to insist on a clinical approach that weighs the candidacy of each Corvette based on criteria like how much each model moved the Crossed Flags forward and improved the brand, rarity/price/long-term desirability, speed/power and speed/power vs. competitors of its day, popularity based on yearly sales, and you can go on and on. I think that the way we ended up framing the question, though, calls for more of a personal touch. With that in mind, I’m going to attack this one by sending my four personal favorite Corvettes to NRG Stadium for the 2023 ‘Vette Final Four.

#1 Seed: 2023 Corvette Z06

My number one overall seed has to be the 2023 Z06. Sure, it represents the latest and greatest, a car that is currently front-and-center in the automotive hype machine and an admittedly uninspired choice. But it’s also something that I can’t help but nerd out about on a daily basis, proof that this country can still achieve a genuine moon shot when it rolls up its preverbal sleeves, and a perfect realization of Zora’s long-time vision of the Corvette as a world-class, (semi)attainable American sports car capable of shaming the pretentious out of the established go-fast hierarchy. 5.5L, 8,600 RPM, 670 HP, no forced induction, carbon fiber wheels, unreal!

#2 Seed: 2019 Corvette ZR1

The two slot is reserved for the king of original recipe ‘Vettes, the 2019 ZR1. This car wasn’t supposed to exist, but we are extremely fortunate that the Corvette team willed it into existence as the perfect finale for 66 years of excellence. The single model year of production and the fact that under 3,000 examples were minted represents the ZR1’s greatest strength but also a limiting factor in its ranking here. The 755-horse monster is exceedingly rare, making it an instant collectible unlike almost any ‘Vette that came before, but that rarity and the complementary facts that it 1. was developed on a shoe-string budget, 2. had terrible luck in Germany, and 3. had the most revolutionary model in nameplate history hot on its heels really combined to restrict its time in the sun. But just like a one-and-done tournament standout like Carmelo Anthony or John Wall, though, the ZR1 will live on forever in Corvette lore.

#3 Seed: 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition

My scrapped full-bracket idea featured the two above ‘Vettes as one seeds. They were joined by a pair of Midyears in the ’63 Split-Window coupe and the full range of ’67 427 roadsters. Since the idea morphed into a list of four personal favorites, more or less, I’m going in another direction here, and it shares a displacement with the latter Sting Ray. I love the older ‘Vettes, and ogling them at car shows as a kid helped turn me into the fanatic that I am today, but the ones that still get me going today, the ones that I long to own and spiritedly drive for miles on end, are more modern in nature. If I could have just one ‘Vette to sustain me for the rest of my life, I think I’d have to go with the 2011 Z06 Carbon, maybe even more than my 1 and 2 seeds above. As obsessed as I am with the new Z06, it’s the ultimate version of its C6 predecessor that stands on its own better for me. If I were in a position to order a C8Z, it would need a manual transmission garage mate (I usually picture this Viper ACR-E and its massive V10 and aero kit as my ideal complement to the high-revving Z06) for me to be truly happy. The Carbon checks Gemini Project sensibilities and big-bore shock and awe boxes all by itself. 7.0-liters of “small” block fury (which absolutely destroys the Viper on sound) that still revs to 7k, an all-but-forgotten focus on lightness, a subtle and sultry curvy body style, and the purity of that six-speed (the right number of forward gears vs. the C7) shifter make these almost unbeatable in your author’s eyes. 505 is also a much more usable amount of power and, as one of just 252 ever made, the Carbon is no slouch in the collectability department. Sure, the seats and Cobalt-derived steering wheel leave a bit of desirability on the table, but really, in the light of all of its greatness, who cares!?

#4 Seed: 1995 Corvette ZR-1

This is where it gets really tough. The Carbon and its Blue Devil C6 stablemate were a tossup between the pumped-up Z06’s debut in ’11 and the C7 Z06 reveal leading up to the 2015 model year. The Z06 joined the supercharged club with 12 more horses and 46 more lb.-ft. solidified the special proposition that was the C6 Z06 – especially in Carbon/Z07 guise – for good. The C6 ZR1 and the Big Nasty C7Z now run neck-and-neck on my appeal meter, with the ZR1 still holding a slight edge, mostly because it doesn’t require any specific RPOs to really float my boat, for more or less, the whole five-year run was set-up perfectly from the get-go. When playing games like this, though, I usually hold myself to a “no repeat platforms or engines” rule in the name of variety, and I’ll honor that here by giving my last roster spot to the 1995 ZR-1. While the other three are in a completely different performance league than the final year, “King of the Hill,” it is the great wedge that has the best story around it. From its colossal significance to bringing American performance out of the doldrums to its jewel-esque Lotus-engineered DOHC V8 and”what could have been” stillborn Gen-III LT5s that were rumored to hit 475-500 horses a full decade before the LS7 hit the scene, to the full slate yet-to-be matched endurance records, the ZR-1 is the stuff of legend! The icing on the cake is the way the C4 has officially hit the “rad” stage of the retro life cycle; their style and old-school sports car dimensions mixed with the Game Boy graphics of the digital gauge cluster and the availability of my all-time favorite ‘Vette interior scheme, and a slate of interesting exterior hues, these things just ooze cool!

Cliff Notes Version:
1. 2023 Z06
2. 2019 ZR1
3. 2011 Z06 Carbon
4. 1995 ZR-1

On the Bubble: C6 ZR1, C7 Z06
Love But Have to Send to the NIT: C7 GS, C5 Z06

Do you agree or disagree with the Final 4 Corvette Madness picks from Alex? You can let him know in the comments below. We gave the same homework to each of the CorvetteBlogger writers, so stay tuned for more “Corvette Madness” Final Four picks!

Related:
Question of the Week: What Are the Two Features You Like Most About on the C8 Corvette?
Question of the Week: How Did You Get Interested in the Corvette Hobby?
Question of the Week: The Ultimate Two Corvette Garage