Corvette ZR1 pricing announced

General Motors has announced domestic (US) pricing for its keenly awaited 'King of the Hill' Corvette ZR1, and the numbers make for pretty good reading.

GM says the brutal Corvette ZR1will carry a sticker price of $US105,000 ($111,380 in our money) -- including dealer delivery charges and gas-guzzler tax -- when it goes on sale in America this northern summer. The gas-guzzler tax reportedly accounts for $US1700 ($1803) of the price.

Its sticker price may sound like a steal for a coupe with supercar-thumping oomph, but one needs to remember that new-car prices in the US are typically lower than they are here.

For example, a Porsche 911 GT3 retails for just $US107,500 ($114,000) in the States, while the same car costs $253,200 here.

Just two options are offered in the ZR1 -- chrome wheels for $US2000 ($2120) and a premium interior package that includes ZR1-logoed leather-trimmed sports seats, side airbags, Bose stereo and satellite navigation. The latter package adds $US10,000 ($10,600) to the price.

GM says it has deliberately not lumbered the ZR1 with a whole swag of extras, given that most of its performance-hungry buyers will be keen to have the car with minimal added weight.

Although the official price has been announced, a report in respected US publication Autoweek suggests that the limited production run (just 2000 ZR1s a year) will prompt Chevy dealers to demand premiums for any ZR1s they have in stock.

Even price premiums commanded by dealers are unlikely to deter hardcore performance junkies, lured by ZR1 stats such as a 0-60mph (0-96km/h) sprint in 3.4sec, beating the 7.0-litre Corvette Z06 by three tenths of a second.

The margins become even more dramatic as speeds rise, as the ZR1 dispatches the 0-100mph (0-160km/h) dash in ballistic 7.0sec, eclipsing its stablemate by nearly a full second.

At the heart of the ZR1 lurks a supercharged 6.2-litre LS9 V8 that kicks out a monstrous 476kW and 818Nm. No surprises, then, that Chevy is touting a top speed of 330km/h (205mph in the old scale), making it the fastest 'Vette ever.

This Carsales correspondent has driven the existing Corvette Z06 and can confirm that it's brutally fast in a straight line, but somewhat agricultural in terms of its ride/handling/gear-change/interior presentation.

GM product czar Bob Lutz has promised the ZR1 will be a more civilized proposition, but only our first drive will provide proof of this...

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