If there was a surefire way to experience the full fury of an engine, it would be simply to ditch the roof and let the sonic vibrations flow in with much less interruption. And if there was a car revealed this year that needed that kind of blunt structural assault, it was the loopy Corvette ZR1.
It’s essentially identical to the ZR1 hard top that was shown earlier this month in Dubai, except that now the fixed roof has been replaced by a retractable fabric tonneau. This means that the supercharged 6.2-litre LT5 V8 output is unaltered at 563kW and 969Nm, and coupled with the very aggressive active exhausts, there’s plenty to look forward to hearing. Drive is sent to the wide rear rubbers after running through either a seven-speed manual or an 8-speed automatic.
There’s really nothing else that has changed visually, and the ZR1 Convertible uses the same wheels and features an undifferentiated aerodynamic package, replete with a sticky-out chin, dive planes, and a huge manually adjustable rear wing - provided, that is, that the ZTK Performance Package is selected.
Structurally, however, where most cars would need to undergo some changes, often drastic, to recoup the structural rigidity lost without the roof, the ZR1’s architecture is apparently strong enough to offer enough overhead in stiffness to handle losing a roof without requiring additional strengthening beams or major alterations.
Obviously, it won’t be as unyielding as the ZR1 hard top, but the differences are negligible enough to not be noticed by the majority of drivers, and not unless they compare them back to back. There’s still some weight gained in the wake of losing that roof, despite the chassis being so rigid, to the tune of 27kg.
Chevrolet says the only change needed to adapt the ZR1 to its lack of roof was the repositioning of the seat belt mounts which would normally be on the B pillar. The fabric cover itself is electrically operated and can be deployed or retracted at speeds of up to around 50km/h. The car is still very much made to feel most at home on a track with semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres wrapping around its 20-inch rollers.
The ZR1 coupe will naturally be able to achieve a higher top speed, but Chevy has confirmed that the Convertible would still be capable of topping out only beyond “200mph” (or over 320km/h). Meanwhile, the standing sprint should still be able to level peg the ZR1 coupe.
Both ZR1s should be starting to occupy showrooms in North America in second quarter of 2018 with a starting price of around AUD$158,000. Those interested in the Convertible will have to fork out an additional US$4,000 for the more ‘special’ experience.
