Advanced Technology
L iving in Southern California has its ups and downs. What attracts millions are the weather and always breathtaking land- scapes. However, there are many cities with con- gested traffic and we happen to live on the outer edge of the LA metropolis, one of the most con- gested. As regular readers may know my daily driv- er for the past 30 years has been a ’95 Chevy extended-cab pickup with a 4/6-inch drop and steelies with ’41-48 Chevrolet script hubcaps. For over a dozen years I commuted to work in Orange County, earning it a personalized license plate from my good friend Eric Geisert proclaiming it the “MoVal Freight Train.” The ‘slammed effect’ enhances its long silhouette and as the years have unfolded it feels even larger in today’s urban traffic. Even parking lots seem to have narrowed parking allotments to maximize space for today’s ‘jelly beans.’ I’m also intimidated on the freeways snaking my way through traffic at 70-plus only to be passed by minivans packed to the gills as though I were sitting still. Not withstanding the fact this year I’ll be able to drive through the main entrance at all NSRA events (if I don’t forget to reg- ister!), I can’t help but feel like technology has eclipsed the old Freight Train. It’s ready for an update. A recent case of technology racing forward at breakneck speeds was the release of the 2025 C8 Corvette ZR1, the fastest production Corvette ever produced. Powered by the 5.5-liter LT7 flat-plane- crank V-8 with a pair of massive turbochargers, the 8,000rpm redline achieves peak torque of 828lb-ft at 6,000rpm with a maximum horsepower output of 1,064hp at 7,000rpm. The official acceleration figures just released from Chevrolet for the C8 ZR1 are 0-60 in 2.3 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds at 150 mph when equipped with the “ZTK package.” This package includes the Magnetic Selective Ride Control, but with stiffer springs and special calibration, visually aggressive aerodynam- ics with a high-down-force carbon fiber rear spoiler, front splitter, side skirts and tires to focus on maxi- mum performance on the racetrack. As I read about this amazing car the quarter- mile performance numbers seemed similar to ones we obtained in a streetable ’40 Ford sedan dubbed “Project 40” four decades ago. I decided to com- pare the numbers and sure enough, the ’40 recorded times .25 second quicker (9.35) and 2.9
mph (152.90) faster. To say the ’40 Ford was a streetable car in the same sense as this Corvette is certainly stretching the truth, but to be fair, either one will deliver an exhilarating experience! To achieve its performance required stuffing in 14.5x32 Goodyear slicks, a Strange Engineering strut-style front suspension, a full roll cage and a Yenko aluminum big-block with 12 pounds of boost from a Littlefield 8-71 supercharger pumping out 840hp into the confines of an upholstered ’40 Ford sedan. At this point, any performance com- parisons to the C8 ZR1 go out the window. With four decades of engineering, advancements in manufacturing and materials, and their long legacy of performance research and experience, the designers and engineers working on the 2025 C8 Corvette ZR1 were just warming up! All this tech- nology and effort obviously make this Vette insane- ly quick, but beyond the quarter-mile it keeps on cruising all the way to 233mph. With exotic-car appeal, an interior built to safely handle G-forces along with all the luxuries one could expect, and its performance legacy all coming together only time will tell what the true potential of this Corvette is once it starts getting out in the public’s hands. The truth is the ’40 Ford was pushed near the very limit of what an all-steel vintage car of this era with full upholstery and trim could muster, especially keeping the true street-legal designation. Aerodynamics was not in its favor! As a side note to this quarter-mile comparison it’s interesting to note the cost to build Project ’40 in 1995 was only slightly higher than the $68,300 sticker for the base 2025 C8 Corvette. However, the starting price for a production C8 ZR1 is $174,995. These prices seem extremely reasonable for a car with this amount of pedigree and all it represents. Reasonable yes, unless you are one of the most passionate Corvette collectors in the world. Rick Hendrick recently added to his 120-car Corvette collection at the world re-known Barrett- Jackson auction when he bought the very first 2025 C8 Corvette for $3 million dollars, followed by the first 2025 C8 Z06 for $3.6 million and the first ZR1 for $3.7 million. All the money generated from the sale of the ZR1 was donated to the Red Cross. It’s fun to think about what advanced tech- nology has in store next. Tom Vogele tomvogele@verizon.net
8 MARCH 2025
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