To the five of you that actually bother to read Driver’s Life, I’d like to wish you a merry Christmas! (Or a happy Jews go to the movies day. Or whatever floats your secular, heathen boat!)
Keep reading Driver’s Life. I swear to god, it is my new year’s resolution to start posting on a semi regular basis once again.
It’s been a long time coming! GM has finally unveiled the Corvette ZR1, and its a beauty! I don’t even know where to begin here, so lets talk about appearances first. At first glance, the ZR1 doesn’t really look all that different from the current Z06, and that is probably due to the fact that the aluminum and magnesium frame of the current generation Z06 forms the basis of the ZR1. There is a carbon fiber splitter on the front, not dissimilar to the chin splitter found on the Le Mans winning Corvette C6R. The hood bulges out on the top to cover the impressive new engine, but on the top, lies a transparent lexan window to show off the powerplant. Moving to the side of the vehicle, an astute observer would notice 2 vertical fender vents. All that hot air in the engine bay has to go somewhere, and 2 massive holes aught to help that. The roof of the ZR1 is all carbon fiber, to help lower the center of gravity, and to make it look absolutely badass. But to help with the latter, GM spent a small fortune to develop a special clearcoat to put on top of the carbon fiber to help prevent resin oxidization, which on any other car would turn yellow and crackly over time. GM wanted to ensure the carbon fiber would look good for the lifespan of the vehicle, and apparently a gallon of the clear coat cost $60,000. The front clip of the ZR1 is also carbon fiber, although painted to match the rest of the vehicle.
Lets talk engines.
The new ‘Vette uses a new V8 LS9 engine, which produces at least 100hp per liter of displacement. Though GM hasn’t released any info about the power output, they told us that engine displacement is 6.2L. Now, obviously, simple minded folks wouldn’t be able to form the kind of hypothesis that I am about to, but then again, not everyone has been a 3 time winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for being a math whiz either. Not to brag or anything… I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that the ZR1 will produce between 620-650 horses. How do I come up with that number? I am a genius, that’s how.
Make the jump for more info on this beast of a Corvette
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If I find more auto related comics, I’ll throw them up here every now and then…
Mostly because its a copout for me to not have to try and be funny. Do you think living a life as hilarious as mine is easy? No sir, it is not.
Yes, its true that there is no human being on this planet who is funnier than I am… I once told a joke so funny that Chuck Norris could be heard laughing hysterically. From space. True story.
A british car magazine claims to have inside information surrounding McLaren’s latest automotive offering, tentatively codenamed the ‘P11.’ This time around, it seems McLaren isn’t trying to break any records, or beat the Veyron and SSC in a battle for top speed supremacy. Instead, McLaren is seemingly taking a step downmarket! (It feels so wrong even saying that…)
The P11 is targeting Ferrari 430s and Porsche 911 GT2s. Not that this is a bad thing! Power is thought to come from an AMG sourced 6.3-liter V8, generating an expected 500 horsepower down through the rear wheels. The P11 should be quick, with an anticipated sub-4-second run to sixty and a top speed over 200 mph. It should be able to stop quickly as well thanks to carbon-ceramic brakes and a lightweight frame made from aluminum and carbon fiber.
The McLaren P11 will be the first new vehicle from the British company since they paired up with Mercedes to make the SLR. But everyone knows that McLaren’s major claim to fame is the F1 supercar, which for many years had held the record for its staggering top speed.
CAR says the renderings are fairly close to the mark for the supercar that will launch in 2010. In this blogger’s humble opinion, this is a very very good thing. Because these renderings have the potential to reverse the effects of advanced erectile dysfunction in a way that could make Viagra jealous. Plus, I haven’t seen such a sexy rear end since… well, since I woke up next to three supermodels this morning. Yep. That’s how I roll.
[Source: CAR online]