Central Valley Corvettes of Fresno - December 2017
Central Valley Corvettes of Fresno - December 2017
Central Valley Corvettes of Fresno - December 2017
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Beyond the larger supercharger and the fuel-injection system, the biggest differences<br />
between the LT4 and LT5 are the latter’s larger throttle body and strengthened<br />
crankshaft. Even with the computer dialing<br />
back the torque output in the lower gears,<br />
Chevy figures the ZR1 will hit 60 mph in<br />
less than three seconds, clear the quarter<br />
in less than 11, and top out beyond 210<br />
mph. Juechter says: “Some companies,<br />
when they go up in horsepower, what<br />
they’re really doing is just extending the<br />
torque curve . . . the peak torque isn’t higher<br />
at all, it just extends a little bit. We’ve<br />
elevated the torque across the range. It<br />
feels stronger than a Z06 all the way<br />
through the gear run-up, not just a little<br />
extension at the end.”<br />
“If you’re going to engage in an endeavor like this,” adds Tom Peters, “you need that<br />
noticeable transition or contrast. You know a customer is going to expect it.” As design<br />
director for performance cars at General Motors, Peters shouldered much <strong>of</strong> the<br />
responsibility for the other half <strong>of</strong> the ZR1’s story: aerodynamics. Aside from the rear<br />
wing and different wheels, the Z06 and ZR1 are identical aft <strong>of</strong> the A-pillars. Forward<br />
<strong>of</strong> them, no bodywork is shared, and engineers crammed an additional four heat<br />
exchangers into the nose. Each outboard nostril contains a new radiator and<br />
intercooler. The two intercooler bricks underhood are enlarged to twice the size <strong>of</strong> the<br />
LT4’s. The ZR1’s larger blower and additional coolers add some 140 pounds to the<br />
Z06’s curb weight, most <strong>of</strong> it concentrated in the nose. A chief collaborator on the<br />
ZR1’s styling was air.<br />
Maximizing airflow<br />
through all those<br />
exchangers meant<br />
extensive wind-tunnel<br />
development, using<br />
both scale models and<br />
full-size cars in a rollingroad<br />
wind tunnel. “We<br />
see aerodynamics as an<br />
opportunity to make the<br />
car more unique, more<br />
pure and genuine,”<br />
Peters says. “To me,<br />
that’s universal truth,<br />
and that’s design.”