"Blue Devil" News: Test Details Roll In

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Pics aplenty at Jalopnik. Pick your color:

Jalopnik

^ I'd pick the blue, it matches with those badges.

-> But the red looks too much like the legendary NSX.

ZR1 Corvette

NA1 NSX

 

[McLaren]

Wow, out on the streets, it really does look like just a Z06 with a new bodykit and wheels. I mean, it really doesn't set itself that far apart at all.

 

[Philly]

It still looks really cool. The body kit is nice, and knowing that it comes from the factory makes it juts that much more special.

I like how it subtly says that it is something special instead of screaming it form the rooftops like GM could have easily done.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Wow, out on the streets, it really does look like just a Z06 with a new bodykit and wheels. I mean, it really doesn't set itself that far apart at all.

...................And then you race it

 

[YSSMAN]

I think that was the point of the car. Make it ungodly fast, identifiable only to the well-trained eye, and pump out a few thousand a year. Good to see the one at Wendys too... Getting some civilian use out of it!

 

[Leonidae]

[Source: General Motors]
CHEVROLET ANNOUCES CERTIFIED POWER RATINGS FOR THE NEW CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1: 638 HP FROM THE SUPERCHARGED LS9 V-8

PONTIAC, Mich. – When it was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's power was estimated at 100 horsepower for each of its 6.2 liters of displacement. GM Powertrain has completed SAE certification of the ZR1's supercharged LS9 V-8 and the results exceed the estimate: 638 horsepower (476 kW) and 604 lb.-ft. of torque (819 Nm).

The LS9's output is nearly 103 horses per liter, or just about 1.7 horses for each of the engine's 376 cubic inches. It is unquestionably the most powerful automotive production engine ever manufactured by General Motors and enables the Corvette ZR1 to achieve a top speed of more than 200 mph (322 km/h).

"One of the most amazing things about the Corvette ZR1 is the level of refinement that our designers and engineers have attained. Even with all that power, this car has road manners that will allow our customers to enjoy it on the streets as a daily driver, and on the track," said Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper.

The Corvette ZR1 goes on sale this summer. Its 638-hp supercharged engine is complemented in the chassis by heavy-duty components not offered in any other model, including a six-speed manual transmission with race-hardened gears and dual-disc clutch technology that delivers exceptional clamping power and lower inertia, as well as strengthened axle components.

Fuel economy testing has not been completed, but engineers are confident the ZR1 will be the most fuel-efficient 600-plus-horsepower car on the market.

The LS9 engine is hand-built by specially trained technicians at GM's Performance Build Center in Wixom, Mich. It is a unique, small-volume engine production facility that also builds the Chevrolet Corvette Z06's LS7 engine and other high-performance GM production engines.

"Developing the LS9 involved more than simply striving for a great horsepower number. Endurance and reliability testing have shown the engine to be robust and low-maintenance, just like other engines in the small-block family," said Sam Winegarden, executive director, engine engineering for GM Powertrain. "That it is distinguished as the most powerful engine ever from General Motors is a source of immense pride among everyone involved with the LS9."

Supercharged aspiration
The key enabler of the LS9's performance is the industry's first production application of a new, positive-displacement Roots-type supercharger that has a unique four-lobe rotor design. Its design promotes quieter and more efficient performance, while the large, 2.3-liter displacement ensures adequate air volume at high rpm. Maximum boost pressure is 10.5 psi (0.72 bar). It is teamed with an integrated charge cooling system that reduces inlet air temperature for maximum performance.

"The combination of large displacement and the new, four-rotor design broadens the effective range of the supercharger, allowing the engine to make more power at lower rpm and sustain it throughout the power band," said Winegarden. "The low-end torque is tremendous and the high-rpm charge from the supercharger is simply amazing."

A raised hood provides adequate clearance for the LS9, while a polycarbonate window in the hood provides a view of the engine beneath it.

LS9 details
The LS9 features many unique design and manufacturing details that support its high-performance nature. They include:
Aluminum cylinder block with iron cylinder liners that are finish-bored and honed with a deck plate installed
Forged steel crankshaft with a nine-bolt flange
Titanium connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons
Stronger, rotocast cylinder heads with 2.16-inch (55 mm) titanium intake valves and 1.59-inch (40.4 mm) hollow-stem, sodium-filled exhaust valves
Camshaft with 0.555-inch (14.1 mm) lift for excellent idle and low-speed driving qualities
A dry-sump oiling system with 10.5-quart (9.9 liters) capacity
Integrated oil cooler and piston-cooling oil squirters
Intercooler cover visible through the hood window that features ZR1-unique blue accents and "LS9 SUPERCHARGED" embossed on the left and right sides

Specifications

LS9 6.2L SUPERCHARGED V-8
Displacement (cu in / cc):
376 / 6162
Bore & stroke (in / mm):
4.06 x 3.62 / 103.25 x 92
Block material:
cast aluminum
Cylinder head material:
A356-T6 rotocast aluminum
Valvetrain:
overhead valve, 2 valves per cylinder
Fuel delivery:
SFI (sequential fuel injection)
Compression ratio:
9.1:1
Horsepower / kW:
638 / 476 @ 6500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft / Nm):
604 / 819 @ 3800 rpm
Fuel shut-off (rpm):
6600
Recommended fuel:
premium required
Exhaust manifolds:
stainless steel
Main bearing caps:
forged steel
Crankshaft:
forged steel
Camshaft:
hollow steel; 0.555-in (14.1 mm) lift
Connecting rods:
forged titanium
Valves:
intake: titanium
exhaust: hollow steel
Valve lifters:
hydraulic roller
Supercharger:
R2300, four-lobe "Roots" type (2.3L)
Additional features:
piston oil-spray cooling; direct-mount ignition coils; 11-rib accessory drive

*click*

 

[YSSMAN]

Even more good news on the power issue...

The ZR1 is happy to do 205 MPH runs, thanks... --> Click for Video

General Motors, Chevrolet and the Corvette team are clearly proud of the power ratings they just announced for the Corvette ZR1. With its LS9 V8 producing 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque, you would expect the most powerful Corvette ever to be the fastest as well. And you'd be right. On its GMNext website, GM has revealed that its taken the ZR1 all the way up to 205 mph at its test track in Papenburg, Germany. And they had a video camera on board to capture the moment. The sense of speed is incredible, and even we got excited when the ZR1 climbed the banked oval and made other vehicles track testing that day look like stationary objects. Keep your eye on the digital speedometer in the bottom center of the video and watch as the ZR1 is still pulling strongly above 180 mph.

We remember a time when the Ferrari F40 and Lamborghini Diablo were battling for the title of World's Fastest Production Car, and the Diablo narrowly beat out the F40 by claiming a top speed of 204 mph. Now we have a Chevy that can go 205 mph. What a wonderful world.

It all makes me feel so happy to be a Corvette fan. GM has done a damn-good job, regardless of what cars you like, or in this case, do not.

 

[Leonidae]

just imagine how much better it would be with DOHC.

 

[nissan tuner]

i swear, if this corvette only comes with runflats from the factory ...

 

[YSSMAN]

I believe the ZR1 gets PS2s out of the factory, however, I may be mistaken. They [GM] have finally figured out that tires are often one of the most important ingredients to a high-performance car.

just imagine how much better it would be with DOHC.

Too expensive? Generally less-reliable?

Zing!

 

[TopHat]

just imagine how much better it would be with DOHC.

By making it heavier, more complicated, and -


No, wait, I don't wanna start the DOHC vs. OHV argument again.

 

[Leonidae]

LS7 wasn't that reliable either, judging from some topics at corvetteforums..

 

[TopHat]

LS7 wasn't that reliable either, judging from some topics at corvetteforums..

How reliable is the RB30DETT (or whatever it's called, I'm not too up on the Nissan engine codes. ) when its pushed to put out 500 horsepower?

 

[Leonidae]

So far, not a single one has suffered from malfunctions etc as far as I know. but when I look at those numbers.. 6500 peak power and 6600 fuel cut-off.. all I can think of is the havoc caused by missing a gear.

 

[Joey D]

Wow! I just watched the video of the ZR1 doing the top speed run and it's not the speed that impressed me (a car going 200mph seems almost easy these days) but the way it got there was amazing. I still think it looks goofy as hell but with an engine like that who cares?

 

[Jim Prower]

Damnit. G.M.'s hired Jun "Hell's Tuner" Kitami.

I mean, this car is every bit worthy of the title of "Devil Z," at least, If a certain Fairlady 240 from Yokohama has nothing to say about it.

How hard is this thing to drive? Will it coax you into going faster, then mercilessly try and kill you when you get it wrong?

I'll say this much...it looks best in Blue.

((and that's enough Wangan MidNight references for one day.))

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

LS7 wasn't that reliable either, judging from some topics at corvetteforums..

Well then imagine how unreliable the DOHC engine would be

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Top speed figures and horsepower doesn't mean much to me. What I'm waiting for is those times at the Nurbie ring. I'd be happy if the ZR1 would chop the Z06 times by 4-6 seconds off.

 

[Joey D]

-> Top speed figures and horsepower doesn't mean much to me. What I'm waiting for is those times at the Nurbie ring. I'd be happy if the ZR1 would chop the Z06 times by 4-6 seconds off.

Got to imagine it will, probably can make up 4 seconds in the long straight alone just to the to the power.

 

[TopHat]

Wow! I just watched the video of the ZR1 doing the top speed run and it's not the speed that impressed me (a car going 200mph seems almost easy these days) but the way it got there was amazing. I still think it looks goofy as hell but with an engine like that who cares?

It got there so easily! I bet it could do 215 easy.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

It got there so easily! I bet it could do 215 easy.

I agree, something strange in that video, it was still pulling hard then they got to 205mph and just stopped accelerating.

I think the Nurburgring times will be 10sec faster than a Z06 at least. This car has everything on the Z06, more power, lighter, bigger brakes, better aerodynamics, wider tyres. In a track as long as the Burger it will be pulling away every second.

 

[McLaren]

I agree, something strange in that video, it was still pulling hard then they got to 205mph and just stopped accelerating.

I think the Nurburgring times will be 10sec faster than a Z06 at least. This car has everything on the Z06, more power, lighter, bigger brakes, better aerodynamics, wider tyres. In a track as long as the Burger it will be pulling away every second.

All that doesn't necessarily means it'll be faster by 10 seconds. It's undeniable the SLR 722 has better aerodynamics, bigger brakes, etc. because it's a race car, yet it's actually 4 seconds slower than a CCR.

10 seconds is also exaggerating a bit much, imo. Edmunds has a time of 4:40 for the ZR1 on semi-wet with 2 occupants, which is only 2 seconds faster than a regular Z06.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Yeah, semi-wet + toque =/= a good thing, and having 2 people in a car really screws things up, I can feel the difference in my car of acceleration.
How do you compare the SLR 722 (a whale of a car anyway) to a CCR (a Keoniggsegg right?). When a lap takes over 7mins, an increase of 10sec shouldn't be rediculously hard or ludicrously impossible IMO.

 

[YSSMAN]

-> Top speed figures and horsepower doesn't mean much to me. What I'm waiting for is those times at the Nurbie ring. I'd be happy if the ZR1 would chop the Z06 times by 4-6 seconds off.

The best I can give you is the unconfirmed times by spectators of 7:40 or so, about two clicks short of the claimed Nissan GT-R times. I'd be willing to bet that the production car, running at full-clip, could probably cut 10 seconds off of it. Maybe, maybe not. It would seem more than reasonable to put it in the neighborhood of the Carrera GT and 997 GT2 given the power and weight advantages. That being said, its still hard to say for certain. The target car, performance wise, was the 599 GTB, but its already surpassed that easily...

 

[SlipZtrEm]

It'll be interesting when a customer car is put on the dyno. If the car ends up running, at the wheels, close to the claimed crank BHP, is everyone going to accuse Chevy of "cheating", just as a certain other powerful car got a while back on here?

And the numbers game is equally fishy, because if we're going by them, then the new V-Spec could do -10sec as well. And let's not forget the NSX-R has a time completely uncharacteristic for a car of it's power/weight ratio.

*shrug*

I'm happy to see the car has followed the lead of the Z06 though and has ended up more powerful than original predictions, it's always nice when that happens. The torque in particular is impressive.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

The torque is better than impressive, it's huge.
Why would Chevy be cheating if the wheel horsepower was close to crank horsepower? That would mean it's even better right? GM has been fairly spot on lately though, with the G8 getting almost exactly what was claimed.

 

[McLaren]

Yeah, semi-wet + toque =/= a good thing, and having 2 people in a car really screws things up, I can feel the difference in my car of acceleration.
How do you compare the SLR 722 (a whale of a car anyway) to a CCR (a Keoniggsegg right?). When a lap takes over 7mins, an increase of 10sec shouldn't be rediculously hard or ludicrously impossible IMO.

I'm referring to the GT race car, and gaining 10 seconds is ridiculously hard, regardless of the track being the Nurburgring.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

The torque is better than impressive, it's huge.
Why would Chevy be cheating if the wheel horsepower was close to crank horsepower? That would mean it's even better right? GM has been fairly spot on lately though, with the G8 getting almost exactly what was claimed.

That's kinda what I'm getting at. Personally, I think it's good, more power is never a bad thing! But a fair amount of people here complained pretty loudly when it was discovered that the GT-R did the same thing.

 

[YSSMAN]

The certification is in that new SAE format with the observed testing on several engines, which I believe is averaged to create the new figures. The LS7, as I recall, only gained about 5 BHP from these new testing procedures, but other cars like the Honda Accord (as I recall) lost several when Honda put their engines to the test.

In all honesty, its not that big of a deal. The performance for the Corvette likely comes out of the high power, low weight, proper tires (finally!), and the clever engineering to make an already fast car even, well, faster...

I'd be interested to hear what axle they're running out back, and furthermore, what kind of spacing they're putting between those gears.

 

[nd 4 holden spd]

Yeah, gear length would be interesting, in GT5 6th gear is just there for show on a Z06. Fuel economy reasons I guess.