Is The Chevy Corvette ZR1 Really Worth $100,000?

my whole life I've never really been into Corvettes they just haven't really been my thing so then a few weeks ago I got an email from a viewer in Atlanta Georgia who invited me down to come and check out his Corvette the ultimate Corvette a c6 Corvette zr1 so I figured might as well give it a shot [Music] before I see if the Corvette zr1 changes my feelings on the Corvette let me tell you why this one is the ultimate Corvette built from 2009 to 2013 the Corvette zr1 had a supercharged v8 with 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque it had an entire Toyota Corolla more power than the Corvette zo6 and it had an entire Subaru WRX more power than the standard Corvette the result was zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds in a top speed of 205 miles per hour so on paper the Corvette zr1 sounds pretty amazing but what about in practice well I'm going to show you around the Corvette zr1 and then I'm going to give you my first impressions and then I'm going to take this one on the road to find out if the zr1 is ultimate enough to get me into Corvettes and as always for more of my thoughts click the link below to check out my column on autotrader.com slash oversteer i'll start the tour with something i always found to be a little odd about the corvette zr1 now a lot of exotic cars have clear hoods so that you can see through see the cool engine the zr1 also has a clear hood hello but when the zero-one's hood is closed you can't see a whole engine and all of its cool parts and pieces you just see the engine cover I've always found that to be a little strange since this car isn't an Italian exotic but rather a Corvette it doesn't have a lot of weird quirks but it does have some noticeable changes over the standard Corvette there's a different body kit for instance and carbon ceramic brakes there's an aluminum frame to save weight and GM's excellent magnetic ride control suspension comes standard there are different larger wheels and stickier tires and there's a lot of carbon fiber on the roof the pillars the rocker panels the front spoiler in the hood and even the front fenders climb inside though and it looks like a regular Corvette the base price of a zr1 was a hundred and five thousand dollars just eight years ago and inside well regular Corvette buttons and center screen regular Corvette climate control vents regular Corvette shift lever and Center control stack regular Corvette dashboard and floor mats regular Corvette manual reclining seats regular Corvette gauges with a little zr1 logo regular Corvette stocks for the turn signals in the windshield wipers regular Corvette switch gear for the climate controls and a regular Corvette parking brake that sticks up out of the center console it even has that regular GM font for the odometer and that typical General Motors green glow for the heads-up display and let's be honest on the outside it looks pretty regular too considering this is a six figure ultra Corvette with 638 horsepower you have to admit that most people would probably look at it and think it's just a Corvette but then again none of this stuff really matters if it's amazing behind the wheel so how does it drive I started off on normal roads [Applause] [Music] so no sweets I don't feel like I'm drivin anything but a standard correct this feels like a fairly rational reasonable automobile the transmission feels super tight what do you think about Corvettes you think about stick shifts I mean I had an old Cadillac cts-v where you can move the lever a lot even when it was in gear not in this thing and this thing it's really tight an hour we're sitting in bumper-to-bumper tries fairly easy to operate bumper-to-bumper traffic the clutches is easy it's easy to figure out and it's not like the Viper it's not heavy my light doesn't hurt it it's a normal car in traffic designs about 40 miles an hour on fun suburban roads and it just didn't feels like still feels like a normal car if it sounds like I'm a little bored well I am this is the fabled Corvette zr1 but mostly I wasn't really all that impressed with it there just wasn't that much to say about it then I moved on to some twisty roads egg grips certainly don't handle like a mid-engine car look at that face is that face the face of someone who's satisfied with the ultimate Corvette it was fine on these curvy roads but I was starting to wonder what's all the hype about this car then it was time to get on the highway alright now we got a nice on-ramp I don't to pull a Hellcat here oh my god Wow that's wild I was in it I was on it for about two seconds of full throttle I just that was brutally brutally fast accelerating that's definitely an experience I'd like to have again if you could please move to okay Wow well that's insane that is crazy insane the thing is you don't expect it from a Corvette sitting in the Corvette especially one that is driven so Corvette like up until this point and made all of a sudden you put your foot down and you are seriously an exotic car chair join and this is for Wow Wow in the sky Wow it's insane it's totally insane if you saw this in a parking lot or a restaurant it would say hell it's a Corvette that's cool and you would have no idea but it's capable of this so here's my conclusion about the Corvette zr1 the interior the exterior styling the driving experience around town on curvy roads it's a little too mundane for a six-figure car but the speed well that's a different story but when I was 20 and the Corvette zr1 just came out I remember thinking myself why would anyone ever get a Ferrari anymore now that you can buy a Corvette with all this performance for half the price but on paper isn't really the same as real life and in real life this isn't really a Ferrari competitor is it worth $100,000 not to me but I have to admit if you go on auto trader and look through use listings these are starting to creep into the low 60s and high 50s and in that territory it's a whole different ballgame [Music]

Channel: Doug DeMuro

Views: 1,918,747

Rating: 4.6397104 out of 5

Keywords: corvette zr1, chevy corvette, chevrolet corvette, corvette, zr1, chevy corvette zr1, chevrolet corvette zr1, chevrolet zr1, corvette z06

Id: VhzTIXYP6zQ

Length: 7min 29sec (449 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 22 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/Sidekicknicholas]

As someone who has never owned a really fast car.... I can't imagine the top end power on this thing. My Father in Law has a C6 Z06 and its terrifying how fast it is while you're already going fast.... and this is even more of that.

Another great video!

[u/HondaJunkie]

/u/Doug-DeMuro is this the same owner in Atlanta Georgia who also let you review his Lamborghini Huracan, Lamborghini Murcielago, and the Jaguar XJ Supercharged? Or do you just like using this business park?

[u/WFR22]

The rate at which you put out videos is absolutely insane. Enjoying them greatly.

[u/ConQuan]

I've been watching Doug Demaro recently and I really enjoy his sarcastic remarks about cars accessories. He's really honest, basically talking about how cool the accessory is, like the DB11's volume knob/slider or all of the leather while making fun of how useless it really is.

[u/LJ_909]

I agree with Doug. Its not worth 100k. I was working at a Chevy dealership when it came out (I was 21) and we had a blue one on the showroom floor stickered at 122k (of course it had a markup) and I got to ride in it when it got delivered. It was'nt a 100k car to me. I was impressed by the power, but at the time of its debut in 09 the C6 was already going on 6 years old and its age was starting to show especially in certain refinement areas.. In my opinion they should have saved the ZR1 until the C7. To me the ZR1 was about 15-26 grand too much for what it was.

[u/Supercars_Official]

I remember seeing the new Zr1 when it came out as a kid. I went to the dealer and they let me sit in it so I've always kinda been drawn to it.

[u/bocidilo]

Get lost in Montana - YAY! Our slogans on a thing!

[u/Tonspike]

I've driven one with the very serious intention of potentially buying one... It handles as flat as a board and rides comfortably but its suspension feels "American" if that makes any sense. I didn't really feel a difference between the two suspension settings (I'm surprised you didn't mention this Doug). The power is deceptive. For some reason, a car like an R8 V10 (previous gen) felt faster, I think because there's a certain sense of drama in winding out a car rather than getting hit with a truckload of torque, even though the ZR1 is the faster car. Very easy to drive and goes virtually unnoticed, even with Jet Stream Blue paint. The one I drove had a modified exhaust which droned more than anything so I can't really comment on the sound. The word "chainsaw" comes to mind.

In conclusion... I would need more time in one before really making a decision, but it didn't really "hook" me in my ~10 minute test drive. I felt more engaged in, for example, a 997 TT 6-speed.

[u/n0th1ng_r3al]

I'm not a Corvette person but the ZR1 is my favorite out of all the Vettes ever made. I rarely see any more on the street for some reason