- Jul 21, 2005
- 12,042
- 4
- 81
Jay Leno's ZR1 drive
- Thread starter Q
- Start date
JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,553
- 942
- 126
I saw a ZR1 in person a few weeks ago at a private car collection in Cypress, CA. Sounded nice, interior still sucks though.
I took a bunch of pictures of it.
I took a bunch of pictures of it.
The ZR-1 is a truly amazing car.
The problem is that GM does not need a top-notch sports car right now. They need a top-notch econobox or minivan or midsize sedan.
It's sort of like AMD spending billions of dollars on vacuum tube research - they don't need triodes, they need a competitive budget CPU.
The problem is that GM does not need a top-notch sports car right now. They need a top-notch econobox or minivan or midsize sedan.
It's sort of like AMD spending billions of dollars on vacuum tube research - they don't need triodes, they need a competitive budget CPU.
Thing is the car(Corvette) is already made, making a ZR-1 does not cost that much more. Also the engine will be used in other cars and the profit margin on 1 ZR1 is much higher then several econoboxs.
The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
- 14,647
- 2
- 0
Originally posted by: Aikouka
I don't believe so... but I think he'd actually be a pretty interesting guest on there. You should write to them asking to bring Jay Leno on and argue to see who has more cars.
the only mention of jay leno by top gear is about how he and carol shelby were on the board of some auto enviro/traffic/something organization. i agree, he'd be a great guest on the show.
PricklyPete
Lifer
- Sep 17, 2002
- 14,582
- 162
- 106
punjabiplaya
Diamond Member
- Nov 12, 2006
- 3,495
- 1
- 71
Jay had a thing about why he wasn't going to be on the US Top Gear, which will be an NBC show I believe. They called him and asked him if he wanted to be on that car show or something silly, so he refused.
Bignate603
Lifer
- Sep 5, 2000
- 13,897
- 1
- 0
They already paid for the development. If it turns a profit they should sell it. As long as the cash flow is positive its great for Chevy, if one of those is in the show room people will come in to check it out. More foot traffic in the showroom = more sales.
zerocool84
Lifer
- Nov 11, 2004
- 36,041
- 472
- 126
The thing with "Halo Cars" is that they are not meant to turn a profit for MOST companies. They are meant to get people into the showrooms so they buy the cars that they do turn a profit on.
Bignate603
Lifer
- Sep 5, 2000
- 13,897
- 1
- 0
They may not pay back the development but I'm sure they can recoup the production costs. As long as it costs less to produce than they are selling it for I think they should keep on selling it.
Just out of curiosity what car do you think that motor with super charger is gonna go in..and profit margin on a car that will maybe sell XXX units but not in this economy? please dont say Camaro. cuz that is not gonna happen
Mr.IncrediblyBored
Lifer
- Jun 18, 2000
- 11,198
- 771
- 126
The CTS-V uses a version of that motor - slightly smaller supercharger and lower compression ratio, 550hp.
ponyo
Lifer
- Feb 14, 2002
- 19,688
- 2,811
- 126
CTS-V.
LS9 is basically modified LS3 with the new Eaton TVS 4-lobe supercharger. LS3 is used in base Corvettes, G8 GXP, new Camaro, and Holden vehicles. Base Corvettes subsidizes the cost of Z06 and ZR1. If you notice, all three models look similar and all three share pretty much the same interior even down to the Chevy Cobalt steering wheel. Corvettes are one of the highest profit margin cars for GM. ZR1 as a halo car pays for itself in brand awareness and marketing.
Eaton TVS supercharger should be available in kit forms for all C6 cars by next month or so. Given Eaton is mass producing these TVS units, prices should be fairly cheap.
The LS series V8 (which is actually only 6.2 liters - the 7 liter version is only found in the Z06) is not a very modern engine design - 2 valves per cylinder, cam-in-block, pushrods, et cetera. It's just a refinement of the old-school muscle car engines of old using stronger and lighter alloys, a smaller engine block, and fuel injection. While this works very well for a $20,000 supercar engine, it's not quite so practical for a $2,000 econobox powerplant. (It's also worth noting that superchargers kill fuel economy even more than turbochargers).
The original ZR-1, weirdly, was quite different. To produce the 375hp LT5 engine under its hood, Lotus took the old-fashioned LT1 V8 and switched the 16-valve pushrod system to a 32-valve setup with four overhead cams. A version of this engine with a smaller displacement for general purpose use was dubbed the Northstar, and is used both in normally aspirated and supercharged form in various GM vehicles to this day.
American Speed is working on a supercharged LS7 (427 cu. in.) for the Ultima GTR. 800 horsepower and well over 600 pound-feet of torque.
All for just $38,000.
Fenixgoon
Lifer
- Jun 30, 2003
- 33,106
- 12,520
- 136
you sir, have just lost whatever bits of credibility you once had.
the LS series V8's are some of the smallest, lightest, most efficiently designed V8 engines ever built.
The LS7 is something like 100 pounds lighter than the V10 in the BMW M5, while producing equal horsepower and almost 100 ft-lb MORE torque.
OHC is great for revs, but GM continually shows that OHV is far from an "antiquated" and "inefficient" technology.
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