With the arrival of the 1,250 horsepower Corvette ZR1X, the 375 horses under the hood of this 1990 ZR-1 might not sound earth shaking anymore. But three decades ago, the fourth generation ZR-1 more than lived up to its “King of the Hill” nickname—and examples like this one remind us why.
Offered on Craigslist out of Cleves, Ohio, this black over gray ZR-1 represents the Corvette ethos at its best: big performance, real rarity, and a price tag that still feels within reach. At $29,000, it’s a far cry from the six figure sums commanded by today’s C8 ZR1X, yet it delivers a slice of Corvette history that’s every bit as compelling.
For less than $30K, the buyer gets a car that’s been neither wrecked nor repainted and remains “stock and unmolested,” according to the seller. The black paint shows beautifully in the photos, and the gray leather interior looks remarkably fresh—no surprise given the odometer shows just 27,000 miles on No. 750 of the 3,032 ZR-1s built for 1990.
The car comes with a blue tinted transparent roof panel, and unlike many early C4s, the original windshield shows “zero delamination.” The seller’s reason for parting with it is simple: “I purchased this a few years ago and simply do not drive it.”
Of course, the heart of every ZR-1 is the legendary LT5, the exotic, all aluminum V8 born from a collaboration between Chevrolet and Lotus and assembled by Mercury Marine in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Early versions like this one produced 375 horsepower, thanks to four overhead cams, 32 valves, and engineering that pushed Corvette into supercar territory long before the term became mainstream. (Output would rise to 405 hp for the final three model years.)
This example also benefits from extensive maintenance and tasteful upgrades performed by the current and previous owners, including new injectors, fresh fluids throughout, Fox adjustable shocks (with the original Bilsteins included), new ignition components, and a skip shift eliminator. A full set of GM service manuals, a car cover, and laminated window sticker and build sheet round out the package.
Not everything is perfect—the CD player is dead, the seat bladders don’t inflate, and the tach reads zero at idle—but none of those quirks overshadow the appeal of a clean, low mile, first year ZR-1 priced well below the market’s rising tide.
For someone who wants a true piece of Corvette performance history without breaking the bank, this “King of the Hill” still has plenty of reign left in it.
Source:
Craigslist.org
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I’m not totally convinced this car has the original windshield or much less even a ZR1 windshield because I sure couldn’t see the tell tale cutout for a radar detector in it even when I zoomed in on it. I haven’t seen a C4 ZR1 in years that didn’t have a delaminated windshield.
The heart of the C4 ZR1 is its magnificent Lotus (owned by GM at the time) designed DOHC 4V engine.
Modifiers like Calloway and Lingenfellter amongst others took ’em where they belonged in high 400s or more without forced induction.
Looks like a nice car but for $29K I would rather get a low mileage clean C6 with more horsepower and safety features.