1991 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 LT5: Muscle Car Of The Week Episode 262

1991 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 LT5: Muscle Car Of The Week Episode 262 V8TV
This week, we take a look at a world-class machine with a couple of new twists for Corvette lovers under the hood of this 1991 Corvette ZR1 LT5. The ZR1 version of the Chevrolet Corvette has always stood for power and performance, but this second-generation ZR1 from 1991 boasts a few notable features not shared by any other Corvette before it, or since the end of it’s production in 1995.
Initially, the ZR1 package was installed on the 1970-1972 LT1 350 small block Corvettes, and it added performance suspension and brakes, beefed up cooling, and other parts to make the Corvette perform better on a race track.
By the mid 1980s, Chevrolet developed the goal of creating the fastest production car in the world, and they resurrected the ZR1 name for the production version. Nicknamed the “King Of The Hill” Corvette, the ZR1 would take a high-tech approach to achieve this goal.
Around that time, GM had added the racing operation Group Lotus to the list of companies under the GM umbrella. Chevrolet relied heavily on their expertise to assist in the development of the ZR1, and Lotus brought some innovative ideas to the table. First up was the development of the LT5 V8 engine. If this ZR1 was to be fast, it needed power under the hood, and Lotus saw the potential in taking the legendary Chevrolet small block V8 to the next level through the use of overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder. Since day one, the Corvette has been a pushrod V8, with one cam an 2 valves per cylinder… and it still is today. However, the limited production ZR1 was a great testbed for the technology, which had been used in smaller displacement engines for decades. The result is an aluminum block still displacing 5.7 liters or 350 cubic inches, but that twisted up 375 HP, compared with the 250 HP standard L98 pushrod 350. And Lotus didn’t stop there, they revamped the engine management system for better performance and efficiency and re-tuned the suspension for high-speed track performance. Chevrolet was happy with the design, but didn’t have the in-house capabilities to produce them, so they relied on Mercury Marine to build the LT5 V8 for production of the engines. So now we have an American icon sportscar featuring a new engine design from a British firm, using non-traditional Corvette engine architecture, and an outsource for engine assembly. Yeah, the ZR1 definitely did NOT follow the standard Corvette arc of development.
But the efforts paid off, as the second generation ZR1 proved to be wickedly fast, and the LT5 demonstrated exceptional reliability. 0-60 ran by in just 4.4 seconds, quashing any rumors that overhead cam engines didn’t produce torque. The Z’s top speed tickled 180 MPH, and the car set numerous speed and durability records along the way, like the 24 Hours Endurance run at 175.885 mph for over 4200 miles, setting a world record.
Sophisticated speedy cars like this don’t come cheap, and the ZR1 stickered about double what a base Corvette did in ‘91, helping to keep the production numbers and sales down. Overall, just shy of 7000 ZR1s of C4 generation Corvettes were sold from 1990-1995.
Another factor that helped keep the ZR1 a secret was the fact that the car didn’t really stand out from a regular Corvette. The first ones had flared rear quarters and a bulging tail section, design cues that Chevrolet adapted to all Corvettes for ‘91, so aside from the bigger rear tires and ZR1 badging, you really couldn’t tell the car was twice as bad as a standard Corvette. And what supercar driver wants their ride to blend in with the other, “regular” rides? Perhaps if the car came in special colors or had bolder badging or stripes, it would have been more of a celebrity on the streets. But this was the early ‘90s, and the theme was monochromatic colors with black rubber and plastic trim, and minimal flash.
The 1991 ZR1 was jammed with features, like power seats, windows, door locks, steering, brakes, premium audio, A/C… the list goes on and on. The ZR1 had A ZF 6-speed manual transmission for front gears, and a Dana 44 housing stuffed with hardened 3.45:1 gears in the rear. Tires were huge for the day, 275/40-17s up front and steamroller 315/35-17s in the rear. Teal green was popular in ‘91, and the car still looks fresh today, as it’s only showing 3500 miles on the odometer today, less than a round-trip from New York to LA. It’s the only overhead cam Corvette produced, and as a nearly-new example, it has a rightful place amongst the other pinnacle Corvettes in The Brothers Collection.
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[@TheReaperLSX]

This Corvette was way ahead of its time performance wise that LT5 is a monster this car was worth the money back then and still is even to this day.

[@sidefx996]

Another awesome video as always. Thank you for mentioning the numerous World Land Speed Endurance records this car set in 1990 with Morrison Motorsports. Really an awesome story. Not Ferrari. Not Porsche. Not Lamborghini. Records that were only broken many years later by a one off purpose built race car. Never beaten to this day by another production car.

[@kurtweggler4880]

I remember as you do and this car was awesome when it came out. The 180 top speed was incredible for the time. A nice example as well.

[@jimcolegrove443]

There was another tell. The tail section on the ZR-1 was a few inches wider than the standard Corvette, as you said to accommodate the wide tires while avoiding boy-racer type fender flares. A sharp eye would notice that the license plate opening was wider too, leaving a gap between the plate and the back-up lights on each side. You could remove the badge to go incognito but the wide license plate opening would still give you away. That and the number on the radar gun.

[@calvincooley1074]

jim colegrove 3 inches wider from the front of the doors back to be specific.

[@calvincooley1074]

jim colegrove As I'm sure you know, they end up using the flairs you mentioned on the 96 GS as it basically had ZR1 wheels on the rear. They did a nice job though, I thought.

[@gregorytimmons4777]

@@calvincooley1074 On each side or 3" wider total.

[@TheMrmmkkpro]

#2822 1990 ZR-1 resides in my garage. She had been sitting neglected for many years. When I went to look at it, I noticed it was complete a unmolested example but the years of neglect showed. I made an offer, the owner accepted and I brought her home in 2018. 74k miles on the clock, work began. It was sad she was in this condition but as I looked her over, I could tell she had been loved at some point. May of 2020, after much maintenance work only, no major mechanical issues, she got tags and insurance . Today after over 8k new miles, she is happy and loved. I still have some cosmetic work to do, but she loves to stretch her legs and smoke the tires on occasion, accidentally of course. She is a blast to drive, whether putting around or fish tailing into second gear. Truly a special machine.

[@hank1556]

my absolute favorite Corvette of all time -Viper fanboy

[@1mantisco]

Really? This was the ugliest gen yet to date

[@dukeman7595]

Don't agree, the Roadster (convertible) is a fine looking head turner, however, the other model wasn't near as good looking.

[@knuckleberry4720]

@@1mantisco c5 to

[@knuckleberry4720]

the c3 1968 to 82 was the best looking that or the c2 1963 to 67

[@1mantisco]

@@knuckleberry4720 C5 is fine

[@bgh70]

Tim Allen had one of these LT5 engines and 6 speed transmission installed in a mid '90s Impala SS.

[@zzz7zzz9]

why? what a hideous car.

[@Chrispypullen]

@@zzz7zzz9 to each their own

[@gregorytimmons4777]

Proving he has money to spend foolishly. I mean, i guess it's ok if you manage to buy a mangled salvageyard Corvette. That running gear would be better suited to adorning the engine bay of a high end show car. Such as a really fabulous Nomad.

[@ehlani6677]

​@@gregorytimmons4777 boomer. Chevy gave him the engine, never pulled from a car

[@lucasaldrich5949]

I love these old ZR1's, I see these things all the time with very low miles and if u find one like this that's very mint condition and low miles you better $30,000 or more for one of these. Love the car Kevin, keep the cars coming!!

[@sluggob5534]

Great narration Kevin, what an engine for its time, I remember how much extra this option was, big bucks back then. Brothers collection tickets go on sale April 1st. Enter a chance to win, a three hour drive in any car from the collection.

[@jswan9658]

Another great video, love the color. I like the fact that you had too look at the back too see the ZR1 emblem. Well worth the price even back in 1990. Was going too trade my 1985 Corvette in on one, but marriage and children put that at a much later date in my life. Now I have a 2007 Atomic Orange Corvette Convertible that see's very limited useage here in the Chicago area. But what a Car that is !!. Thanks again for the video.

[@MuscleCarOfTheWeek]

Glad you liked the video, sounds like you have a cool Corvette as well. Hopefully the weather will let you enjoy it more! Thanks for watching!

[@bobolulu7615]

I own a 1991 ZR1. The car is everything that is said in this video and the same from the comments in this section. I will never sell my ZR1. I too was blown away when it first came out when I was a very young man. It took years before I I got to own one and it is everything that has been said about it over the years.

[@speedprofessor5397]

It is still the King to me. When you put it all together, it is still the coolest corvette. Sure, there were others with cool design cues and a few newer ones that are even faster, but for pure driving fun, this one is hard to beat. This thing could even give the new C8 a run for it's money in a 1/4 mile drag race. Things I love about it are, of course , the engine (which even looks better than any other Corvette engine), the way the entire front of the C4s opens forward exposing even the suspension, the removable top, the extra wide rear tires, and the rotating head lights, and last but not least the history of all the speed records it still holds for a production car.

[@freedomfirst5420]

A great car, the LT5 is a legendary engine. I was in awe, when this generation ZR1 came out!

[@topgunns1000]

ZR1's had the high mount brake light on top of the rear window like the previous generation car did. The LT1 cars had the third brake light on top of the rear fascia. ZR1 rear rims looked like LT1 rims, but if you look at the lug nuts, you'll see they're mostly deeper there. Very cool car. I noticed that in these videos from the Brother's collection, the ZR1 lights up the tires way easier than any of the old high end muscle cars.

[@craigt5906]

Love the C4 ZR1! There isn’t a CAR I’d rather own for the money!

[@jeffnorbert1871]

Didn't even know about this ohc engine. Did however run into a guy in a grocery store parking lot who had come out of the store to his Callaway Vette. He said it was a twin turbo 5.7 litre capable of 200mph. Said he'd been to 180 on a race track with it and knew it had more. That's damn fast for someone who isn't a professional.

[@mrdaykurutakuchannel]

Buck Blader IRL! I love the C4 ZR1s due to that one of a kind DOHC engine!

[@davebruton5731]

I checked one in , new right off the truck , it was 3/4 of a mile back to the dealership . It was straight shot back . I must confess , I put that pedal to the floor . I had to let off as I had to break for the entrance . I drove straight into the shop for all the techs to see . I got out with the books and keys for the receptionist to stock in . Little did know , about the valet key for more power . I went back to the first tech and asked , what position was it in when I came in ? He said , valet . I wouldn't have wanted to know , what that would be like .

[@jeffjackson9679]

Love that car...but that body color on this one. Ugggh. You can tell it was the early 90s!

[@DoudD]

Very handsome car; not loaded with styling gimmicks.

[@user-ku2bm6kw2k]

Beautiful emerald green

[@rubyred93chev]

Ying Yang Turqouise Metallic (actual official GM color name), better known to some as Teal green.

[@rubyred93chev]

I own a '91 in the same color but not in the ZR-1 guise. Would I buy and drive a C4 ZR-1, absolutely! After the minor engine debacle in 1991(causing Mercury Marine and Chevrolet to temporarily shut down engine production), the LT5's image was forever tarnished after that. Glad to see this 3500 mile example of the former 'King of the Hill' in the Brothers collection. The burnouts were tame, as the LT5 was one powerful engine option, but thoroughly enjoyable all the same. Another great video yet again Kevin.

[@topgunns1000]

What was the engine debacle?

[@rubyred93chev]

topgunns1000 MerCrusier had made the engine bulletproof as noted by Jim Perkins, General Manager of Chevrolet. Yet in December 1990(the early production units for 1991) there had been an LT5 engine seizure (which was believed to be a camshaft problem), but turned out to be a front cam journal. [Source: The Heart of the Beast]. The rest of the story reads like a good novel. With no blame made to MerCruiser, the engine line was shut down for months to sort out what went wrong. Turns out Mercrusier the manufacturer of the LT5 was not at fault, but a GM division was(turning out to be a quality control issue). The GM subsidiary that produced the cam journals had to tighten its quality control, plus a new rev limiter was set on the engine in a cold start situation. All the cars were caught in Bowling Green except one, which had made it to a dealer(but not yet sold to a customer). This engine seizure hurt the ZR-1 Corvette brand post 1990.

[@tomtom72]

Respectfully, as you are obviously one of The Brothers of The Beast, according to Graham Beam the issue was miss communication. Bay City ( GM's cam division ) was doing the journals to the fat side of the range. The Merc line honing machine was set up to do the cam retainers to the tight side of the range. The staff at BG responsible for marshaling the cars on to the transporters were doing a cold start, fire up and rev to about 3k to speed up the warm up and loading. One morning Graham and Jon Henriecy were walking across the holding lot and heard an LT5 start and then rev to a high rate of rpm. This lead eventually to a rewrite of the PROM to have a cold oil temp interlock to not allow the 2* port system till oil temp @ 140*. Also that is when they had post failure exam results that showed up the cam journal/cam retainer very tight issue. I don't mean any disrespect to you Gene. I'm too much of a ZR-1 Perma-Grim fan boy to let our engine issue go undefended. Graham said if they just had the foresight on the cold oil issue all the cam issues would be negated. I know I don't lean on my 90 #2233 till I have at least 1/4 way on the oil temp gauge, and that takes about 20 minutes. Till then it's kept below 1500 rpm. Peace Brother!

[@rubyred93chev]

@@tomtom72 *Great insight. My information is pretty much that of yours(or of similar sources). The fact that the production line was shut down for three plus months during the investigation hurt the image of the LT5,(which is why the 'red bowtie' in the form of the C4 ZR-1 isn't more valuable today)?*

[@tomtom72]

Gene, thank you for not taking me for a wise guy! You are so right! "Well, you can't get parts for the motor so what good is it?!" I get so angry, but then I just point to the 24 hr , 5thouK's and other records and say that was with an engine that failed it's final vibration test! LOL Not bad for a reject! And the car they used! OMG That was beat with an ugly stick & put up wet all it's life. You have to drive one to understand. You know. 2nd gear, and she's sooo like silk, all the way to 7k.

[@eddie_rmx]

Adoro Corvette ❤ ... Esse ano modelo 1991 , foi lançado no ano em que eu nasci , 1990 ❤ . Eu tenho um Corvette 1996 , o último ano modelo C4 lançado em 1995 . Continuou sendo produzido até Junho de 1996 , em Outubro do mesmo ano foi lançado o primeiro C5 .

[@madmark7mk]

"Would I Drivw one" I owned on in 2005, its a amazing corvette, extremely fun to drive . Got to i truly miss this car.

[@sidefx996]

And actually if you know the difference it's easy to tell. There's the third brake light and the entire rear end of the car is wider, most easily distinguished by the thick black lines between the license plate and back up lights. Many people put the ZR1 badge and a third brake light on their base car but the thin black line between the license plate and back up lights of a base car is a dead giveaway.

[@jeremythompson9895]

Not one of my favorite Corvettes but still probably the fastest American car you could buy in 1991. My favorite Vette ever has to be the ultra rare 69 ZL1 or a 68 or 69 L88

[@nacho257]

Great video!

[@leonlawrencez28]

I love this car!!

[@grahamsmith2022]

I wanted one of these like crazy 10 years ago or a Callaway,I've heard bad things about C4 ZR1 reliability and I guess times have moved on.

[@studio-flash]

The later interiors with digital n anologue dash n seats look so cool..like the C5 interior cool..myth that the interiors are not up to scratch...they look great...

[@BC08]

Took the SBC to the next level? The LT5 shares absolutely with the SBC except bore spacing. The LT5 was a clean sheet design, not SBC modified for 4V heads.

[@greghughey9738]

SOOOOOOOOO happy they did the burnout lol

[@studio-flash]

This C4 was my least favourite Corvette..but now i likeit..ive realused theres no such thing as a bad Corvette..they are all fantastic looking n so cool..it looks better than most sports cars today..n performance ..faster than a pirsche 911..n obviously better looking.

[@jebediahgentry7029]

Do a video on the Grand National. Surely there is one in the Brothers collection

[@MattySlimz]

Is it still the King of the hill? Yes, as far as C4 vette's are concerned. The C4 Callaways are in the king pack too yet didn't roll outta the factory like this bad boy did. Kevin's claiming 375hp I was informed years ago the numbers were 405hp.. 405 might have been at the crank, awesome numbers for the time nonetheless!

[@tomtom72]

actually, the 90 thru 92 motors were 375 hp. The 93 thru 95 motors were 405 hp. Those ratings are at the crank, using the new ( for 1972 ) SAE standard to reflect an as in stalled hp out put. The main difference between the 375 vs. 405 motors was an increase in intake port size, and a change to the exhaust cam timing. Also, the 405 motors went to a 4 bolt girdle configuration.

[@V8_screw_electric_cars]

Much better looking than c7 zr1

[@jonnybridin]

Cool car. I seem to recall the later models in 95 coming with 405hp? I could be wrong though.

[@tomjones6412]

Jonathan Jones you're correct, the swan song ending for the Corvette ZR1 LT5 were upped to 405 HP.

[@rubyred93chev]

Tom Jones actually the last three model years, '93, '94, and '95 had the 405 h.p. MerCruiser was working on an even higher performance engine, but alas the ZR1 program was killed off by GM top brass.

[@tomjones6412]

Gene Ebeling Yes I know the 405 HP was available in more than the last year. I was just saying that the 405 HP was the highest output as far as the swan song that I mentioned.

[@dwb131313]

I remember these being called the sledgehammer

[@sidefx996]

dwb131313 no they weren't. That was the 254.76mph Callaway

[@kamranetemad4968]

7000rpm red line NICE.👍

[@quickdubbs328]

DAMN STRAIGHT 👋

[@MrMisanthrope1RBjr]

The LT5 found its way into some boats also thru mercury marine .

[@gregorytimmons4777]

Yeah, i've found that boats sometimes contain some sought after powerplants.

[@jamesstaggs4160]

A Corvette generation that doesn't get nearly enough respect. Buy a C4 or three now while prices are at rock bottom because once people figure out how much car you can get from a cheap C4 prices will go up. Yes I know this is a ZR1 and not a regular C4.

[@livewire2759]

I've always had mixed feelings about the Gen 4 ZR1s. As a Corvette fanatic, I was glad to see the 'vette get some real performance again, after nearly 2 decades of mediocrity, but the fact that they outsourced the whole package really left a bitter taste in my mouth. The All American Sports Car, was no longer ALL American, and in my opinion never was again.

[@rjwintl]

pretty cool !!!

[@B86432]

color is sweet

[@zzz7zzz9]

enthusiasts lost their minds when corvette introduced squarish tail-lights.

[@87ferrarif40]

Actually it's 2" wider in the rear, starting from the door's.

[@billthompson5644]

It sounds like that one could use a set of plugs

[@kavinskysmith4094]

Damn shame General motors got a terrible CEO in 1996 that limited the 5th generation corvette to just the Z06 and a bunch of special paint specials, as this car proved that if they wanted to, they could indeed make a world class sports car. and I've long since bashed this man for what he did, and he stayed with general motors until 2014, where upon leaving, the new CEO issued 84 safety recalls, I think that speaks for himself about his mark of quality. and fun fact he is now on the board of directors of american airlines, and that the next generation of corvette ZR 1 under him just used a supercharged motor instead of the specialist motor this machine had to produce its power. and that these cars, according to mr corvette, Dick Gulstrand, are good for up to a 100K+ miles and good for 500 HP+, its just parts are hard to find for them, not bad for a 20 year old car that was ment to get thrashed as it turns out porsche designed one of the RSR GT3's from 2007 to last just 60K miles with their titanium piston rods it was something sharkwerks revealed to the owners of the GT3 that regular car reviews just reviewed a few weeks ago and I'm honestly being nice to general motors about a car, I guess hell has frozen over, quick! put a video up about a hemi cuda before this continues! lol

[@maureenmchugh4890]

LT5 designed by Lotus and instead farming out production to Mercury Marine's MerCruiser division.

[@UGGdyno]

I think I might own this car now. I have a 1991 ZR-1 that is turquoise metallic, and has the same defect in the leather on the passenger seat as this car. The last 3 of my VIN is 769. Anyone out there able to offer a way to confirm?

[@jeremythompson9895]

My least favorite Corvette body style. My favorite is probably a 57 Vette. A 57 definitely is not the fastest Corvette ever made but is the best looking...at least in my opinion. Also liked the C3 Vettes. My favorite C3 is definitely a 69 ZL1...even though only 3 we're ever built. Other than that I'd have to say a 68-69 L88. Both the 69 ZL1 and 67-69 L88 427 Corvettes we're factory race cars not even intended to be driven on the street

[@rrmech11]

Nicr

[@helpmenow7]

Mercury marine

[@vonte88]

😍🤓

[@NewtonWashinton]

The ZR1 also had square tail lights, the standard Corvette had round tail lights

[@radioguy1620]

I thought pushrods were sacred and best, guess Ford got the zr1 message

[@carfirehawk1]

I love seeing burnouts, however, you don't do it on a car like this (3,500 miles...)

[@DoudD]

The Brothers Collection drivers are apparently given carte blanche. I suspect there's a "Oh, what the hell. If it breaks, we'll fix it" mentality :-)

[@pascalmorel2069]

Le plus beau coup de crayon ..quel gueule une ligne sobre intemporel et sans fioritures .. quelque soit l endroit ou l on ce place elle est belle sous tout les angles pour moi c'est la plus belle de toutes les CORVETTES quand on compare à la c7 ZR1 qui à mon goût à un design torturé.. et dégueulasse. .

[@hugartmisskelley4582]

turquoise metallic not teal green.

[@1962pjb]

Yeah, I'd drive the king of the hill if I could fit inside.

[@sidefx996]

1962pjb get it stretched like Michael Jordan did ;)

[@1mantisco]

By today's standards it's just over the hill. King? Not so much

[@sidefx996]

1mantisco actually in 1990 these cars set numerous world land speed endurance records that have never been eclipsed by another production car. Get a clue before you talk shit

[@1mantisco]

@@sidefx996 go fuck yourself. I said by today's standards you fucking troll

[@gtubyyy]

WELL THEY COST MORE NOW THAN WHEN YOU SAID THIS

[@1mantisco]

@@gtubyyy everything cost more now 😆

[@jadebylund7061]

Talk about one nasty looking car. How did those hideous rims get chosen

[@zzz7zzz9]

these vettes and camaros had such terrible styling. they are literally doorstops.

[@nicholasmaher9175]

I do like the ZR1, but, Toyota puts an engine very much like this "test bed of technology" (5.7L DOHC V8) in trucks with 380hp.

[@sidefx996]

Nicholas Maher not in 1990 they didn't. What's your point? Only took them 3 decades to catch up...

[@nicholasmaher9175]

There’s your catch up. Get real. This is a Chevy engine in name only, every aspect from design to assembly was farmed out, listen to the video narration. Toyota didn’t even have full size truck until 1999 but it did have a DOHC 4V-V8 right from the start. The thought that Toyota would need to catch unto GM is delusional and laughable. Literally every time GM has come out with any “new” design (to them) of 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, or V8 with DOHC and 4V they were years, sometimes decades, behind almost every other non US manufacturer, not just Toyota. Toyota had already had such engines in their everyday models for decades. Take 1991 for instance (way back I know) GM was still putting the all cast iron, OHV, pushrod “Iron Duke” in cars. Toyota had DOHC 4V engines in every vehicle they made except for small pickups. Their best 4cyl DOHC 4V engine (no turbo) had 135hp from 1.6L, that’s 97 cubic inches, and that was in a Corolla, sold here in the US.

[@sidefx996]

@@nicholasmaher9175 I'll ask you again. What's your point? Yes I know. I didn't need to watch this video to know who designed and built the engine. You're pretty ignorant if you think any vehicle is 100% designed, manufactured and built under one roof. If Toyota builds an engine "very much like this" then why don't they go out and beat the numerous World Land Speed Endurance records this car set back in 1990. Records that were only beat years later by a one-off purpose built race car. Records that have never been beat to this day by another production car. Oh right, because they'd also have to design the rest of the car around it like Chevrolet did to make that happen. And by the way, the pushrod L98 car that ran alongside it set numerous records as well before it was pulled still running perfect to take to the Geneva Auto Show. Yeah Lexus had a DOHC V8 in 1990. So what? I don't remember them setting any records with it.

[@nicholasmaher9175]

@@sidefx996 Well one point could be that this is not a Chevrolet engine except in name only, they did none of the engineering on it and didn’t assemble it. But you say you know that. That is certainly part of what makes the ZR1 so special. Back in its day that practice was unusual, it was a trend for some years for other companies also when they needed a very high performance street engine in regular production car though currently virtually all OEM’s engineer and build their own, so the trend has come back the other way. It is much less about “manufactured and built under one roof” (which has nothing to do with my argument) than a philosophy of doing things or buying your way out. I know cars are simply an amalgamation of parts, a great many from outside vendors, we all know that, hopefully. That is NOT what I am talking about. Another point could be that Toyota has never done that, ever. They have had Yamaha design the cylinder heads on some high performance turbo 4 cylinder engines in the 1990s “Yamaha” was in the casting and you can count that as a positive, something that made the car special and unique, as you could the unique heritage on the ZR1. Another point could be that this is how Chevrolet does things in Indycar and previously in Champcar, for about the last 2 decades. They buy an engine, from Illmor, and slap a Chevy badge on it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Mercedes did it for just 1 year, 1994. It’s obviously a good engine but it’s a real stretch to say it’s a Chevrolet. Conversely, Toyota and Honda, (the only other competitors in those series during that time) designed, engineered and build their own engines, at their own respective racing facilities in California, TRD and HPD. Another point could be that Chevy pulls out their wallet when the going gets tough, Toyota starts from the ground up and builds something. You could say that’s a difference in philosophy, also that Chevy wallet is not as fat as it once was. Regarding the speed records: I remember that from the time and some of them still do stand, they are regular production car records so your erroneous contention that “were only beat years later by a one-off purpose built race car” shows your ignorance. There are categories for regular production cars and racing cars, and many other types of cars, and they have strict rules so beating a regular car speed record with a racing car does not count. Look it up. You can find them here: www.fia.com/fia-world-land-speed-records, the LT5 ZR1 is in Category A. Another point is that Toyota has an engine just like this in their full-size Tundra, 5.7l DOHC 4V V8. But you already knew that. What is your point?

[@sidefx996]

@@nicholasmaher9175 After mommy gives you your meds, find me ONE thing I said which is untrue.