The seventh–generation Corvette, the C7, famously heralded the end of a formula that had proved for over six decades to be almost as sacred to Americans as the second amendment. In 2018, the last of the front–engined Corvettes rolled off dealership floors, and among them were a select few that promised perhaps to represent the absolute ceiling of performance that modern engineering can squeeze into an FR road car. The C7 ZR1 then, seems almost as if GM's way of pre–emptively saying to critics of the RMR C8 Corvette, "Tell us you can comfortably handle the C7 ZR1,
then we'll listen to your whining and bitching about the layout switch". In other words, the C7 ZR1—at least to me—appears to be almost insane by design.
While it's true that the C7 ZR1's
ludicrously widened body sprouts cartoonish aero and houses a 754HP powerplant, it's not any of those—nor the carbon ceramic brakes or super sticky Sports Medium tyres—that first raised alarms in my head when I looked at the spec sheets. Rather, it's the unexpectedly high ride height of the aero–wearing modern performance car that shocked me:
127mm (5in) front and 132mm (5.2in) rear. Out on the track, my worries were well–founded; the C7 ZR1 was extremely lairy in the corners, with a lot more body movement than I had been intially expected and prefer. So much so in fact, that I had strongly suspected the C7 ZR1 to be represented in–game in a drive mode less than its most aggressive akin to the
2017 Ford GT. But from what I can tell, only the most aggressive Track Mode gives us the
linear tachometer we see in the game. In other words, the C7 ZR1 is behaving exactly as intended, which is to say, "bat**** insane".
What that all translates to is, perhaps fittingly, a driving experience that feels properly old school in spite of its bevy of clever electronic wizardry working under the hood to keep the bowtie adorned missile out of the walls. The car has gobs of grip, both mechanical and aerodynamic, but the driver has to work the car to experience any of it, almost as if the driver has to prove themselves to their steed. One has to know which corner of the car is laden and which isn't, manage the weight transfer of a 1,615kg (3,560lbs) body at speed when muddled with downforce, trail brake with finesse, and be extremely aware of the fact that off–neutral braking will severely elongate stopping distances, to say nothing of the dexterity required of one's toes to massage the landmine of a right pedal without setting it off, even with TCS active. In a sense, it feels very "alive", and it forges a relationship of give and take with its driver as opposed to the more modern and isolating supercars that see it fit to deny its driver of any fun and involvement in the name of keeping them safe (see:
C8 Corvette Stingray). If the C7 ZR1's contemporary peers were to be likened to an LMP1 hybrid racer, then the C7 feels like it's a Group C monster in comparison: fast and scary as all hell, but just undeniably and nigh inexplicably badass all the same, with an air of purity and simplicity around it that is just so damn alluring to weird folk like me. In short, it is exactly everything I want from the sendoff model of the ultimate "traditional" Corvette.
But is the C7 ZR1 truly the limit of what an FR platform can handle? Judging by my (lack of) chemistry with the car, I was initially tempted to say so. The C6 ZR1 is much more my speed, literally and stylistically, being so much easier to drive, so that's always my bowtie of choice. However, the AMG GT Black is just so much easier to drive than the C7 ZR1 while offering comparable performance, so maybe the Corvette could've stayed FR if GM had figured out the black magic employed by Mercedes. To me, the Corvette's switch from FR to MR always seemed aimed more at sanctioned motorsports than production cars. Maybe if more people could sample the C8.R, even if only in a video game, then the C8 might be more well–liked.
Still, for the C7 ZR1 to even be in the same conversation as much more expensive exotics like the AMG Black and Ford GT while itself only costing 134k Credits is a feat of its own, and damned if it isn't going to sound great and be a lot of fun, win, lose, or draw.
