After innumerable Elvis-style sightings and camo-clad Nürburgring appearances, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 has finally broken cover — and quite an animal it is. Picking up where the already pretty amazing, 505-horsepower Z06 leaves off, the scooped-and-spoilered ZR1 packs a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 with "at least" 620 horsepower and 595 pound-feet of torque (visible through a polycarbonate window in the hood). Power reaches the rear wheels through a new six-speed Tremec manual transmission. Chevy engineers have installed 285/30-series rubber on nineteen-inch wheels up front, 335/25-series tires and twenty-inch wheels at the rear. Carbon ceramic brakes are standard, with enormous, 15.5-inch rotors stopping the front wheels, 15.0-inch discs in back. GM's excellent Magnetic Selective Ride Control suspension is standard, with a track-ready setting. Of course, Corvette engineers have incorporated a passel of feather-light carbon fiber composite body panels, including the hood, front fenders and fascia, roof panel and bow, and rocker panels.
More photos after the break, courtesy of General Motors.
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