This Radiant 1993 Corvette ZR-1 Has Only Seen 18,000 Miles

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2016 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell   

 

                             

                                         

Sports cars are a bit like action figures for adults. They’re always worth more if you “leave them in the box.” But where’s the fun in that? It takes incredible effort to buy a sports car (or GI Joe, for that matter) only to never enjoy it firsthand. 

 

Nevertheless, that is essentially what this car is… a big, vibrantly white 1993 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. In its lifetime—which spans over two decades—the speedy ZR-1 has covered a scant 18,064 miles, and looks about as fresh as day one.

It has since rolled a few more—onto the pages of eBay, that is—where it’s looking for new ownership. Anyone getting a little ‘90s sentimental?

 

The “King of the Hill” Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 of the early ‘90s wasn’t the first ‘Vette to take the legendary three-digit name (it first appeared in 1970), however it is unquestionably the most famous.

In the late ‘80s, the Corvette team reached across GM’s corporate architecture (and the Atlantic Ocean) to hitch-up with a team from GM subsidiary Lotus Engineering; the goal was to build a super-performing Corvette, and well… that’s what they did.

Lotus developed what became known as the 5.7-liter LT5 V8, which utilized double overhead camshafts and kicked out a storming 375 horsepower at its debut for 1990, and later 405 hp by 1993. Complete with the C4 Corvette’s lighter chassis, a ZF six-speed manual transmission, and a new Lotus-designed FX3 suspension, the ZR-1 could attack the 60 mph dash in just over four seconds and crack the 180 mph barrier.

It wasn’t what you’d call cheap, however. Originally, the ZR-1 package cost about $59,000, adding around $27,000 to the price of a standard Corvette. In 1991, that increased to $31,000. Only 6,939 were ever built, spanning 1990 to 1995 model years.

This Arctic White example appears to be a rather well preserved car, and photos show a large amount of period literature and documentation, as well as a few more recent awards—two National Corvette Restorers Society “Top Flight” awards and a National Corvette Certification Board “Gold” certificate.

It may be some time before C4 Corvettes demand the prices afforded to first and second-generation ‘Vettes, that said, this car’s $29,900 asking price doesn’t sound out of this world.