Australians have shown their love of the latest generation Chevrolet Corvette but despite that the ultimate hero model, the ZR1, isn’t coming down under.
After months of speculation General Motors Australia Managing Director, Jess Bala has finally delivered the final, unfortunate, verdict for Australian hopes.
“ It’s not built in right-hand drive,” Bala confirmed.
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Unlike the Chevrolet Silverado and new GMC Yukon Denali, which are converted to right-hand drive locally, the Corvette range – which includes the Stingray, E-Ray and Z06 – are sent directly to Australia from the factory with the steering wheel on the right side.
It will be disappointing news for anyone who wanted to get their hands on what is the most powerful V8 production engine ever built by an American brand. The centrepiece of the ZR1 is the new LT7 engine, a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8, which is based on the same ‘Gemini V8’ architecture as the LT6 flat-plane crank V8 engine in the Corvette Z06, but has a pair of turbochargers to take its performance to a true hypercar levels.
Chevrolet claims the ZR1 makes a staggering 782kW (1064hp) or power, 1122Nm of torque, has a top speed of 346km/h and can produce up to 544kg of downforce; at least it can when fitted with its race-bred aerodynamic package.
In the USA, Chevrolet offers two different ZR1 variants. The ‘standard’ ZR1 features a more restrained body kit but comes with staggered 20-inch front and 21-inch rear alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres. Then there’s the ZTK performance package that adds front dive planes, an “aggressive” rear wing and a tall Gurney lip on the bonnet.
While this is bad news, the rest of the Corvette range remains an integral part of General Motors’ Australian lineup alongside the Silverado.
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