Corvette Model Gallery
1989 ZR-1 Coupe
The heart of the ZR-1 was its engine, designated the LT5. As early as 1985 Lloyd Reuss, V.P. of Chevy-Pontiac Canada and later President of GM, commented that Corvette had the look of a world class sports car but now needed an engine that could compete against the best of Europe and Japan.
The GM management team was convinced and a group of Corvette and engine people began to investigate possible engine options which included various turbo charged sixes, eights and various DOHC engines. In 1984 Tony Rudd of Lotus Engineering had been visiting Russ Gee of the engineering group and described a DOHC engine they were developing. The die was cast and soon the racing heritage of Lotus would merge with the practicality of GM to develop the first totally new Corvette engine in decades.
To handle the increased power and higher speeds Goodyear developed a new tire and since each was 1.5 inches wider then the standard rubber some sort of body modification was necessary. C4 designer Jerry Palmer realized that simple add on flares would solve the problem but looked cheap. Two schools of thought developed on the needs for the new ZR-1 body. One was for a familiar but unique look but Palmers suggestion were for changes so subtle that only a Corvette enthusiast could tell the difference. Two styling bucks were built but other than the wider convex tail with square taillights the first 1989's differed little in appearance from a stock L-98. Interestingly most of the features found on the unique styling exorcize later appeared on all Corvettes in the 1991 restyle.
The first ZR-1 bodied prototypes came out of Bowling Green in June 1987 and hot weather testing in Arizona and cold weather testing in Ontario followed. During this testing period GM was still planning a 1989 introduction. While the new car was introduced to the American press in June of 1988 the world premier was made at the Geneva Auto Show in March 1989. This was followed by a press tour of every high speed twisting French highway that could be found. The reviews were unquestionably positive and potential owners couldn’t wait to own their own. Despite the positive publicity, or maybe because of it GM decided to hold production till the 1990 model year.
This has meant that the 1989 prototypes are unique, with their convex tails, square tail lights but 1984 style fronts and interiors. Fortunately as modelers we have been well served with excellent ZR-1 prototype kits from both Monogram and AMT.
The model
Michael Wheeler comments on this build: "This is my AMT 1989 Corvette ZR-1. I built this one pretty much straight from the box except for the addition of flocking in the interior. The screens on the dash are made from the insides of a discarded floppy disc attached with white glue. I built this model curbside because the hood fit was terrible, so I just glued the hood shut and fiddled with the lines before painting. Contrary to what the photos show, the color is a deep metallic aqua green, not blue as the camera sees it for some reason"
If you would like to contact Michael on this model his e-mail address is: corvettemike1978@yahoo.com
Return to Gallery Index Return to C4 Index
Page updated 04/18/08