1990 Corvette ZR1, 375 HP, Pampered!! ZR-1, Full Documentation

Own a piece of history! 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, Red on Red same as the promotional vehicles, fully documented, exceptionally clean inside and out… Unmodified and completely original!!! This car was originally sold new at BUD’s Chevrolet in Saint Mary’s, Ohio in October of 1990. The original owner traded the car in on a new ZR1 in 2009 to the same salesperson that sold him this car in 1990, purchased from Bud's in 2009 making this a two owner car. Original documentation includes bill of sale, copy of original title, original order, dealer inspection and pre delivery report, factory invoice and original transport sheet. Red on Red 2 top ZR1. Nice, nice, nice!!! Completely detailed inside and out; unmodified and completely original. Clean engine bay. No windshield or glass top delamination. Tires are very good. Fronts are original type Goodyear Eagle ZR40 P275/40ZR17. Rear tires Dunlop SP Sport 8000 P315/35R17. Wheels have very slight “curb rash” on the lip; L.R. wheel has a slight scuff. Interior has hard plastic foot well protection tubs and clear plastic door sill protectors, the carpet is very nice!!! Professionally inspected by BUD’s service department when I purchased the car in late 2009 and no issues were found. Fresh service, new injectors (make sure the ZR-1 you are interested in has them as ethanol fuel degrades them over time, it's not a matter of if but when the original injectors will go) recent transmission and differential fluid change. This car needs nothing… Per Bud’s Chevrolet “We have sold many ZR1’s and this is one of the best!” We've done our best to discribe the condition of the car. The ZR-1 is 25 years old and has 35k miles so it's not showroom perfect, however it's pretty darn close.

As for the history of the 1990 ZR-1…During 1986, General Motors acquired Group Lotus, the UK based engineering consulting and performance car manufacturing firm. The Corvette division approached Lotus with the idea of developing the world's fastest production car, to be based on the C4 generation Corvette. With input from GM, Lotus designed a new engine to fit in place of the L98 V8 that was powering the standard C4. The result was what GM dubbed the LT5, an aluminum-block V-8 with the same bore centers as the L98, but with four overhead camshafts, 32 valves. Lotus also designed a unique air management system for the engine to provide a wider power band by shutting off 8 of the 16 intake runners and fuel injectors when the engine was at part-throttle, while still giving the ZR-1 375 horsepower (280 kW) when at wide open throttle. In addition to the engine, Lotus helped GM design the ZR-1's (which in prototype version was called "King of the Hill”) upgraded braking and steering systems, and helped them pick the settings for the standard "FX3" adjustable active ride control that Chevrolet was fitting to the car, helping to ensure that the vehicle was more than just a modern-day muscle car with a big engine and no real capability on the track.

GM found that the engine required special assembly, and that neither the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky nor any of their normal production facilities could handle the workload, so Mercury Marine corporation of Stillwater, Oklahoma was contracted to assemble the engines and ship them to the Corvette factory in Bowling Green where the ZR-1s were being assembled.

The vehicle went on sale in 1990 and was available only as a coupe. It was distinguishable from other Corvette coupes by its wider tail section, 11" wide rear wheels and its new convex rear fascia with four square shaped taillights and a CHMSL (center high mounted stop lamp) attached to the top of the hatch glass instead of between the taillights.

The ZR-1 displayed stunning ability both in terms of acceleration and handling capabilities, but carried with it an astonishingly high price. MSRP for the (375 hp) ZR-1 in 1990 was $58,995, almost twice the cost of a (250 hp) non-ZR-1 and had ballooned to $66,278 by 1995; some dealers successfully marked units as high as $100,000. Even at base MSRP, this meant that the ZR-1 was competing in the same price bracket as cars like the Porsche 964, making it a hard sell for GM dealers.

Although the ZR-1 was extremely quick (0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds, and onto 180+ mph), the huge performance of the LT5 engine was matched by its robustness. As evidence of this, a stock ZR-1 set a number of international and world records at a test track in Fort Stockton, Texas on March 1, 1990, verified by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile), including seven new international records: