Not that long ago, breaking 200 mph meant shopping in serious exotic car territory, and while plenty of cars can accomplish that today, far fewer can do it with three pedals, rear-wheel drive, and an engine you can literally see through the hood. Meet the C6 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
The C6 Z06 was already serious American performance, pairing a 505-horsepower, naturally aspirated 7.0-liter LS7 with a lightweight chassis, but the ZR1 took that formula considerably further. Built from 2009 through 2013 and developed under the "Blue Devil" nickname, the C6 ZR1 was the ultimate Corvette of its generation, a role the badge continues to occupy today. This 2010 example currently listed on duPont REGISTRY Live only has 363 miles on the odometer.
The C6 ZR1 also marked several milestones. Its hand-assembled 6.2-liter LS9 made it the first supercharged production Corvette, and its verified 205-mph top speed made it the first production Corvette to cross 200 mph. All 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque drive the rear wheels through a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual and limited-slip differential. With later ZR1s becoming heavier, and the C7 adopting a seven-speed gearbox, the C6 also represents the last sub-3,400-pound ZR1, the last to use a six-speed manual and the last generation to feature round taillights.
Its exotic hardware went well beyond horsepower. Carbon-fiber front fenders, roof, splitter, and rocker panels helped save weight, while huge Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes measured 15.5 inches up front. The carbon-fiber hood incorporated perhaps the car's most recognizable detail: a raised clear polycarbonate window displaying the intercooler beneath. The C6 ZR1 was so much more than straight-line, tire-shredding V8 performance. GM development engineer Jim Mero drove a production-spec ZR1 around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:26.4.
This particular example seen here is rare even among ZR1s. Chevrolet built 1,577 for 2010, but only 89 were painted Velocity Yellow Tincoat. An estimated 272 were delivered in this color during the model's five-year production run.
This particular car also features the $10,000 3ZR Premium Equipment Group, which added a custom leather-wrapped interior, Bose seven-speaker audio, heated seats, memory settings, a power-telescoping steering column, adjustable sport seats, a six-way power passenger seat, Bluetooth, navigation, a universal home remote, a luggage shade, and a cargo net.
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More than a decade and a half after it left the Bowling Green plant in Kentucky, the C6 ZR1 continues to occupy an interesting place in Corvette history. It comes from an era before turbocharging, hybrid assistance, and the move to a mid-engine layout with the C8 in 2020 changed the formula entirely. The C6 ZR1's approach was comparatively simple: put a hand-built supercharged V8 with big power in a lightweight chassis, and give it enough braking and aerodynamic capability to run with some of the fastest exotics of its era.
When Chevrolet introduced the C6 ZR1, GM claimed the ZR1 had a better power-to-weight ratio than the contemporary Porsche 911 GT2, Ferrari 599 GTB, and Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. That was the company effectively saying the Corvette had graduated into exotic-car territory. For this one, almost all of that capability remains virtually unused. Click the link below for more details and to view the complete listing.
If you're interested in financing these cars or any other exotic car, be sure to get pre-qualified.
