Until now, TTAC has only reviewed new cars. Due to popular demand, we've decided to experiment with reviews of pre-loved automobiles. This raises some important questions. Should we compare the used car to its contemporaries, its latter-day incarnation or an equivalent-priced new car? Or should we just review it "as is" and let TTAC's Best and Brightest hash out those issues in the comments section? As the Brits say, we're going to suck it and see, beginning with Sajeev's review of a Lingenfelter-modified 1990 ZR-1 Corvette.
The ZR-1 is J. Timberlake in fiberglass, bringing "sexyback" with a low-slung beltline, voluptuous hood and toned backside. But check out the attention to detail: black moldings tuck away gaps better than a frantic Worldcomm auditor. A wide-body rear avoids rice boy lumps and scoops with passion and precision. The understated flare in the ZR-1's doors proves that GM could put Pininfarina on notice.
No doubt: Chevy got props from reluctant Ferraristi when the Bow Tie Boys lifted the ZR-1's clamshell hood and exposed the Mother of Pearl motor. The quad-cam V8 was loaded with Lotus-fettled technology, bursting at the seams with 375 horsepower built by (get this) Mercury Marine's finest craftsmen. With 0 to 60 sprints in 4.6 seconds, a top speed of 180mph and an asking price under 60 grand ($58,995), the American had joined the big leagues.
The test car was modified by Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE), purchased through a GM dealer. Since the Chevy shamelessly whacked Lotus in the knees by demanding a ZR-1 bore spacing befitting the small-block family genes (4.4 inches), LPE tuned, honed and ported the ZR-1 to 6.8 liters, 12:1 compression and a jaw-dropping 660hp. That's all motor, baby: no boost, race fuel or laughing gas.
Let the clutch out and a rush of sixteen fuel injectors fans the flames, while thirty-two valves keep the pressure on your cerebral cortex to a Honda-like 7500 rpm power peak. The ZR-1's V8 rumbles at the bottom end and screams bloody murder, F355-like, at the top of the power band. And yes, it's fairly quick.
I needn't risk my license to prove the point. Much love to our friends at Car and Driver, who recorded the astounding fact that the LPE ZR-1 does the 0 -150 – 0 hustle in 23.3 seconds. My quarter mile drag verifications came in at 11.7 seconds at a scorching 129 mph, hitting 185 mph in the standing mile. It's absolutely terrifying– in a good way.
But the ZR-1 isn't all motor. The Corvette C4 underpinnings took no prisoners during their SCCA-dominating tenure. Porsche was powerless, so Ferrari was next. Even with an extra 100lbs up front, the ZR-1's low center of gravity and blessed suspension made most overlook its lack of chassis integrity, dumbbell-weighted steering and long-throw ZF gearbox.
Thanks to a brace of chassis bracing, a Hurst shifter and modern coil-over componentry, the LPE ZR-1 attacks corners with poise and a bit more refinement. Its steering requires significantly more muscle than finesse, but gets the job done in bombastic Lamborghini fashion. And before the beancounters plundered the Corvette's parts bin, the ZR-1's buckets hugged like a mother and coddled like a Cadillac.
Yes, the Vette's interior is Lumina approved, but these thrones turn a dental visit into a Disney vacation. Plus, the C4 Vette's F1-esque seating position invigorates, mostly because I'm not one of America's Biggest Losers. All of which makes curve flattening in LPE's ZR-1 an exercise in patience, practice and pleasure.
You definitively don't want to go into a corner too hot, as there's no handling taskmaster to save your bacon. But with 18" Michelins (the non run-flat variety) afoot there's plenty of margin for error. And when you roll into the throttle at the apex, look out! The LPE ZR-1 flies though any turn, with nothing but 13.5" rotors, Wilwood calipers and ABS interference stopping it.
And when checkered flags turn to business casual at the Hyatt, putter down the interstate in the ZR-1's insanely tall gearing and set the dampeners in "Tour" mode. Magnaride it ain't, so hand over that ignition key to the valet. Just don't leave without the dash-mounted power key: its absence causes the LPE ZR-1 to "lose" more horses than the Porsche Boxster S has to start with. Damn! (Just like the Veyron, you need a special key to get full power.)
So, thanks to the tuning gurus at LPE, the Corvette ZR-1 lives to see another day. Not to mention Chevrolet donated this engine's pedigree for the universally acclaimed pushrod V8s that makes today's GM products so desirable- including the new ZR1. So if you ever meet the first Corvette to credibly compare with Italy's finest, show some respect. The ZR-1 is still the "King of the Hill."
73 Comments on “1990 Corvette LPE ZR-1 Review...”
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Always loved the C4 Vette… This one’s pretty crazy, but even the stock LT1 versions are fun and affordable.
I for one would welcome more reviews like this.
Sajeev,
Thanks. Awesome review, per usual. May we ask where you got a hold of one for the review?
Great View and a great new feature. Please, no Brass era cars. There are a few cars over the past 25 years, I always wanted, but never got. I would love to see them reviewed again.
Nice review. Those seats look like how I picture God’s throne. I want them installed in my car, and my car already has great seats.
So TTAC is going to be reviewing used cars….I think it’s a fantastic idea. I think an emphasis on desirable used cars will help drive up the interest for such reviews (i.e. Porsche 911s, BMW’s of almost any year, Corvettes (present one is an awesome example), Vipers, Lotii, Honda Insights, etc. etc. etc.).
Can anyone provide a used car review? :)
Joe
Sajeev -
An excellent review, and a wonderful taste of what GM is capable of even if only for short bursts. It makes you wonder what might be wrought if the accountants weren’t running the show…
Nice review of an honest American hero. On that note, When are you reviewing a Ford Mustang Mach 1 ?
Nice…very Top Gear-esque.
Might I also suggest:
* A B13 Nissan SE-R
* an E30 BMW M3
* Supra Twin Turbo
* GMC Syclone/Typhoon
* Mustang SVO
Be interesting to get your perspective on some of those. The SE-R, in particular, was a C&D fave.
I think TTAC should do the BMW 2002 next… anybody have one for demo? e-mail me!
I love the C4 and specially that ZR-1 generation. Than they still haul a$$ only makes me happier. Great Review.
Can you review a similar ‘Vette with a LT-1 or LT-4 modded engine? All motor would be nice
Or a Callaway Sledgehammer?
Or something made by Gale Banks?
And about TTAC reviewing beaters: go ahead, DO IT. Same for this kind of review :)
Awesome. I was hoping you guys would start doing some older car “reviews”. Those seats are hilarious looking, but in a good way.
Great review, that kind of performance is amazing now, I can only imagine how mindblowing it was back in 1990. As far as the question: “Should we compare the used car to its contemporaries, its latter-day incarnation or an equivalent-priced new car?”
I would answer “all of the above,” although that might be hard to fit in under the 800-word limit.
Reviewing interesting used cars is such a great idea. They don’t even have to be top of the line sports cars either (although I can never get enough of these type of reviews), I think a ‘performance bargains’ series of reviews that let people know which older cars provide the most bang for the buck would be great
Great review, Sajeev!
The motor in that beast was a true testament to the engineering prowess of the the late, great John Lingenfelter. In an era when running mid 13s at 105 mph would put you in the 99th percentile of fast cars, the 7500 rpm screamer from Indiana (via Oklahoma, Michigan, and England) was simply astounding. A new C6 Z06 has to check its mirrors closely if one of these is following it.
Anyone looking for more on the original Chevy supercar can go to http://www.zr1netregistry.com for a wealth of information.
I agre with thetopdog
Yes to used car reviews, especialy cars that I can’t buy new, but might be cheap enough to buy on the used markets – porshe, bmw, merc, lotus, etc.
this is a wonderful review, thanks.
+1 on this evil things
GMC Syclone/Typhoon
Mustang SVO
Add Merkur XR4Ti to the mix
Thanks for the link mr doctorv8
One more yes vote for used car reviews. I too would like to see more reviews of cars that might be performance bargains now, that I couldn’t afford new. I think that should be the criteria, by the way. Basically, you are comparing them to modern cars, but taking into account the reduced price for a used car. Also, some older cars are nicer than the newer ones due to superior styling IMO.
I, personally, love this review, and the idea of them… I’m a early-30-something hoon-in-training that missed the older generation gems.
Great idea those used car reviews. I think direct comparisons to the underwhelming offerings of today would be helpful and appropriate too. Please review an early 1970s Volkswagen Westfalia Campmobile and a Fiat Spider. I’m curious what you guys think of those.
Outstanding!!
As a new-to-the-club C5 Corvette owner, I have quickly learned how attainable performance can be.
Love the ZR1 : “soooo hot. Want to touch the hiney.”
Fantastic start to the used car series! Problem is, there are so many interesting cars that are running around out there that would befit a TTAC review. The list would, quite honestly, be endless. However, “attainable classics” would be a nice place to start, such as the C4 Corvette (albeit, the ZR-1 nomenclature makes it a bit harder for Joe Carbuyer to obtain). And I always thought it would be cute, in a hokey kind of way, to buy my wife a C4 with the vanity plate of “Y-Vettes” since her first name is Yvette. Call me a hopeless romantic, but then, she’d much prefer a nice Z3, I think.
Great review! I’ glad you guys are go ahead with the older reviews. Now if only someone would lend RF a Countach…
“… bursting at the seams with 375 horsepower built by (get this) Mercury Marine’s finest craftsmen.”
If I recall correctly, I think OMC, the makers of Johnson and Evinrude outboards at the time, engineered and manufactured the V8 that Ford put in the Taurus SHO. Was the boating market tanking in the 90’s leading motor manufactures to devote their resources to other projects?
By the way, I like the idea of elderly automobile reviews. It seems like a very favorable step in TTAC’s continued evolution
I’d suggest doing by half-decades or decades.
So we could look at primo muscle cars from 60-70, smog era performance cars 71-80, 80-90, etc.
I’d pick two or three from each era, and that’ll keep you busy for a while.
so maybe:
1970 LS6 Chevelle vs 1970 Hemi ‘Cuda vs. 1969 428 Cobra Jet Mustang.
or Rabbit GTI vs. Omni GLH-S
let’s see how they stack up after time has passed.
Oh yeah:
1968 427/435 vs. original ZR-1 vs C6 Z07
Used car reviews are very worthwhile. It opens up more expensive cars to the regular guys. However, finding a car this old in good condition is hard to find for sale. Nice review, although it is a heavily modded example not reflecting what most people will ever spend on modding. Its good for a historical standpoint IF it were a stock ZR1, since GM is teasing us with the new ZR1 now… but its not, so this review fails. Used cars a few years old I can see, but if you review anything older, it will likely be running poorly.
Zarba :
April 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
let’s see how they stack up after time has passed.
Cost has a lot to do with that.
The LPE ZR1 profiled here is fast, but if it costs more than a new Viper or C6 Z06, what difference does it make?
On the flip side, why buy a 2008 Nissan 350Z if your credit union will finance a well sorted 1990 Supra?
Great review. Some of the classics are a lot more interesting than today’s PC machines. Hope you continue this project. Oh, and the writing, “…black moldings tuck away gaps better than a frantic Worldcomm auditor”.
Yes Yes Yes (3 votes) for used car reviews! I am from Chicago so am allowed to vote 3 times (2 in the names of dead relatives).
1968 427/435 vs. original ZR-1 vs C6 Z07
The original ZR-1 came out in 1970. I think only 30 or so were built. TTAC getting their hands on one will be tough.
Why no love for the C5 as a possible old Corvette review? Not old enough?
The things I couldn’t abide about the C4, even the post-1990 versions and the ZR-1, not mentioned here:
- The absurdly wide sills that make graceful entry and exit nearly impossible;
- The ridiculously cluttered dash, with a haphazard mix of digital and analog instruments, all in a cheerful pumpkin-orange hue;
- CAGS (unless it was disabled in this car), a really irritating CAFE-beating feature that forced you to go from first to fourth when puttering around at anything less than banzai throttle;
- The relentless squeaks and rattles that tend to afflict even closed C4s over any pavement that isn’t glassy smooth.
Granted, compared to the ergonomic foibles of contemporary Italian exotics, these are endurable, but those, combined with pricey repair bills and the “You’re kidding, right?” reaction of most insurance companies, kind of take the fun out of it as a cheap-and-cheerful used purchase.
n85523
I am thinking the taurus sho was yamaha. Someone here will know for sure.
mfgreen: yes the SHO V6 (and later V8) were Yamaha designed.
argentla: CAGS is easily defeatable with a little PCM tuning or a plug in resistor, and insurance companies for the most part never charged a surcharge for ZR-1’s. I know my rate was the same as a regular L98 coupe, and the convertible was higher (!) The LT5 motor itself is extremely durable, and the usual repair bills were for standard C4 stuff. All in all, not cheap, bit still a pretty practical used buy, if you find one that’s been well maintained. Dollar for dollar, it remains very high on the exotic performance value list.
Yamaha indeed on the SHO.
I’m all for “classic” reviews, too. I like the idea of doing either sets of contemporaries (same era/price range/class) or histories, meaning several years of those models that stuck around for a while.
Mj0lnir :
April 14th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
The LPE ZR1 profiled here is fast, but if it costs more than a new Viper or C6 Z06, what difference does it make?
Cost may be similar to a new C6Z for a mint LPE ZR-1, but guess which one will be worth more in 5 years? Or 5 months, for that matter? It’s no longer a used car, but rather entering the realm of an appreciating collectible.
That it has modern supercar levels of performance is just icing on the cake!
I’d love to see a review of a 1st Gen Toyota MR2.
My dad had one when I was in middle and high school; I never got to drive it before it was totaled by some fool running a stop sign. Not a lot of power, but oh could it ever corner.
Hi all, thanks for reading my review of this beast. We should do more of these, and I’m glad to see most agree with us. Keep your fingers crossed, I’m in transit and hope to review a TTAC-worthy rental car when I land.
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detroit1701 :Awesome review, per usual. May we ask where you got a hold of one for the review?
There’s a guy in Houston with a 415 LT5 who was more than a little proud to have me review it. Considering LPE only made 20 of these (they still offer the package on their website), I consider myself very, very lucky.
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edgett : A wonderful taste of what GM is capable of even if only for short bursts. It makes you wonder what might be wrought if the accountants weren’t running the show…
Ditto the Fiero, Allante, Reatta and damn near every limited run GM product that never got what it deserved. Hell, even the Cimarron got interesting at the end: the MPI 2.8L 5-speed model was no slouch and lasted forever.
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Samir Syed : Nice review of an honest American hero. On that note, When are you reviewing a Ford Mustang Mach 1?
Funny you mention it, I think I have access to several BOSS 429s and a BOSS 302. Hmmm…
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thetopdog : Great review, that kind of performance is amazing now, I can only imagine how mindblowing it was back in 1990. As far as the question: “Should we compare the used car to its contemporaries, its latter-day incarnation or an equivalent-priced new car?” I would answer “all of the above,”
Me too. Look at the numbers and the LPE 415 could rival the new ZR1. And it has a normal hood. Not to mention the conversion package (engine alone) is 20-30k above the cost of a clean used model (20-30k).
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Jordan Tenenbaum : Great review! I’ glad you guys are go ahead with the older reviews. Now if only someone would lend RF a Countach…
Works for me, I wanna drive a Testarossa. White or silver, please!
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huy : Its good for a historical standpoint IF it were a stock ZR1, since GM is teasing us with the new ZR1 now… but its not, so this review fails.
Fair assessment, but you’re neglecting the fact that the LPE 415 will run with the new ZR1, even with a 19 year handicap. And the appraisal on my tester was tens of thousands less than the MSRP of the new ZR1. Seriously, that’s no small feat for an old ride.
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Mj0lnir: The LPE ZR1 profiled here is fast, but if it costs more than a new Viper or C6 Z06, what difference does it make?
The car tested is less than both. Even if you bought one of the 20 made back in the 1990s, they are gonna be well under $80k. The question I throw back to you is, how awesome is it to run with today’s best in a car that most everyone thinks is a 1984 Vette with 200hp and a set of flashy wheels?
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ajla : Why no love for the C5 as a possible old Corvette review? Not old enough?
A C5Z06 is a great review waiting to happen. Aside from understated looks and DOHC madness, it’s a far superior car. Not to mention its much, much more affordable to buy and maintain and gives better performance than a stock ZR-1.
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argentla : Granted, compared to the ergonomic foibles of contemporary Italian exotics, these are endurable, but those, combined with pricey repair bills and the “You’re kidding, right?” reaction of most insurance companies, kind of take the fun out of it as a cheap-and-cheerful used purchase.
There is NOTHING cheap and cheerful in purchasing used cars that run as hard as a Corvette ZR-1. If anything, the ZR-1 is the best value because it has a lot of cheap parts thanks to rampant GM parts binning. Stock or otherwise, if you buy in this class, you better have a big garage and other toys to play with.
Correction: even though there’s about 20 of these LPE 415cid ZR-1s the road, they still offer the “kit” for $29,900 and it has a two year warranty.
Link
I’d die if you could review a 1969 280 SL Benz! What a beautiful piece of steel! I couldn’t even imagine getting my hands on one, though, but reading about it would be enough!
C4s are one of the most severely underestimated cars out there.
Even an L98 can be built into a 400-550 horsepower firebreather using off-the-shelf-parts from the local farm implement and gardening center. LPE did one that got over 900 horsepower that was still very streatable, yet could top 200.
I had the pleasure of riding in a 1991 LPE built L98 – one of the mild ones with “only” 550-600 or so horses. That thing was viciously, hilariously, insanely fast, and wore license plates that proclaimed “YUD LUZ.”
And meant it. It could suck entire flocks of starlings right out of the sky.
Euroweanies gasp with astonishment at the MPG readout going down the freeway in my mildly-massaged 300 horse L98: 40 or 50 mpg is very common.
As far as repair costs: Compared to what car that is remotely in the same performance category?
Larry P2,
Did you tell the Euroweanies that you put bigger injectors in you car, and that the mpg readouts are based on the pulsewidth of the stock injector?
Either that, or you had one helluva tailwind. 30 mpg yes, 40+, ummmm, no.
Bravo on the used car reviews!! This is a great addition to the site. I like the lists some people have made, though I bet some would groan if they were tested here when new. Like the World Trade Center, some things are disliked in real time but missed in death.
doctorv8: I wasn’t assuming the ZR-1 was necessarily more expensive to repair or insure than an L98 or LT1, but that’s plenty bad enough. My friend Bob, a guy in his mid-50s with a clean record, has a 1990 C4 (not a ZR-1), driven occasionally, and his insurance company’s reaction could be filed under “pillage, raping and.” He’s also found that fixing even routine things can be daunting, as well, reflecting the complexity of the way it’s put together.
“Did you tell the Euroweanies that you put bigger injectors in you car, and that the mpg readouts are based on the pulsewidth of the stock injector?”
No, cuz they are stock injectors. In 6th gear the thing is doing only 1,300 rpms at 65 mph. Barely past idle. But I concede, stick your foot into it even briefly and it is very easy to achieve low single digit mpg. As in 1 or 2.
As far as the “complexity” of a C4 and “daunting” fixing even “routine things:” It’s pretty hard to get much more simple than a hoary small block Chevrolet V8 that has every nook and cranny completely exposed when the “clamshell” is lifted.
My 1990 C4 insurance premium (full coverage with $300,000 Allstate per accident limits) is $580 per year. With three moving violations in the last two years.
That was fun. I couild definitely go for more old car reviews
While not exactly old, another suggestion on a good older-car are older Honda S2000’s. :) God are they fun to drive.
Sajeev:
Whether it can run with the new ZR1 is yet to be seen and I will believe it when I see it. I will bet that this car will have a tough time keeping up with even an EVO X around a road course.
1/4 mile numbers are cool, but its not a big deal for a heavily modded car like that to run those numbers. many have done faster with less. that engine package alone costs $30,000…
It is a cool car, but it is not as great as you claim it to be. Its also heavily modified and an older car, so there is no justifying it to anyone but a hardcore C4 enthusiast.
Reviewing modified cars may blow your mind and that of many uninformed readers, but its no big deal to those in the know. The automotive aftermarket has grown a lot since the days of this car and there is so much out there that can be done to virtually every car out there.
Second/third the original Taurus SHO with the “you can get it only in a stick or tough luck.” That was by far so ahead of their time. I really remember the Z34 Lumina and that turbo Dodge Spirit thing that tried to compete.
I really miss the 80’s pocket rocket lineup – the VW GTI, Omni GLH, Corolla FX16, (wasn’t there a) Mazda 323 turbo, Nissan Pulsar with the larger engine, Mitsu Starion and a few others. I also started driving during the early 1990’s Japanese small car tech overload era like the Nissan 240SX with the 4WS, the Stealth/3000GT turbo AWD twins, RX7 turbo, 300ZX twin turbo and 4WS (thanks to an uncle that let me flog his 1992 model even when it was brand new), Acura Integra GS-R, Toyota Supra and the small Europeans like the Audi 80/90 and BMW 3-series. In my mind, this was the heyday of unique cars before real platform sharing and parts swapping took over and started making cars feel the same. It would be a riot to hear the opinions of TTAC readers on some of these cars and if they have stories about them to this day.
For the record, 2nd-gen Acura Integras and the 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX turbos don’t die easily.
One Corvette ZR-1 memory. Back in college, I parked cars (and made decent money) for many area country clubs, black-tie events and so on. One night at a really nice country club, a year or so old ZR-1 arrives with some guy and a drop dead model type blonde strapped to his arm. After they went indoors and out of earshot, I hop/fall/plunge/dive into the driver’s seat and I remember saying “Oh Yeah.” My supervisor knows what is going to happen next, starts laughing, and looks the other way. I moved the car just out of the canopy and lights and lit those tires like there was no tomorrow. To this day, I wonder if the tire tracks are still there. That was some real raw power and the burger run later that night with the Vette sealed the deal.
Oh, and BlueBrat – hell yeah. I understand why Honda dropped the redline but that original beast was something special.
huy,
I would suggest that rather than implying that Sajeev or some of his readers are “uninformed,” that you find someone to give you a ride in a modded ZR-1. Of course it’s not winning any bang for the buck mod contests, and an Evo might outrun it on a tight road course, but when the road opens up and you hit a clean 3-4 shift at 7500 rpm at about 120 mph, NOTHING sounds quite like an LT5 engine, and no four banger would be as satisfying, regardless of how much boost you cram down its throat.
And it just so happens this car was doing this when today’s Evo drivers were in diapers.
theflyersfan,
You are the reason I NEVER valet my car. ;-)
huy: The difference between this car and other modded cars is that this one comes with a warranty, and the Lingenfelter package actually increases the value of the car. Mods done by world famous companies like Lingenfelter, Ruf, Alpina, etc. are usually on another level (drivability, reliability, balance, etc.) than something like an Evo with jacked up boost
@thetopdog
Alpina doesn’t do mods. They only sell complete cars. These days BMW manufactures the cars for Alpina, they come down the BMW production line as Alpinas, yet in the papers, the vehicle manufacturer is stated as “Alpina”, not “BMW”.