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Is it a Musclecar by definition?...No, but it is awesome.

See the story below!
 

The absolutely beautiful vehicle you're looking at is my father's ZR1.  About 5 or 6 years ago, he came back from Mexico and told me he was itchin' to buy a fast car.  He wanted me to look around for 1998 Mustang Cobras.  After I did a little research I found that for roughly the same amount of money you would spend on a super-clean 1998 Mustang Cobra, you could get an early Corvette ZR1 (1990 or 1991) with low miles.  Still going with his wishes, I lined up a beautiful Mustang Cobra (black/black) but just before I called, it was sold.  So I told my father "you know Dad....for the same amount of money you could get a 1990 or 1991 ZR1."  He responded, "what is that?"  Oooooohhhh....let me tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rest is history.  He has become a car show fanatic spending hours cleaning every inch of his baby in preparation for the judges' scrutiny.  He has two awards from the two shows he registered in and we're going for a third in September.

Again - I know it's not a Musclecar by definition, but until I get my 1970 Chevelle SS 396, it sure does help to keep the blood flowing and the passion red hot.

Here are some ZR1 facts....I plan to add more:

Models
ZR1

Engines

• The Corvette ZR1 is not a normal Corvette.

• All ZR1's came with the LT5 Engine which was designed by Lotus and built by Mercury Marine for the ZR1 and only the ZR1.  No other Corvette had the LT5 Engine.

• 1990 was the first model year for the ZR1 and it could be easily distinguished from normal Corvettes by its rounded back end.  1991 was the same way as the normal C4 Corvette still had the somewhat flat "notched" back end.

• In 1992 the normal Corvette received the same rounded back end as the ZR1 and as a result it was more difficult to distinguish from the real deal.

• From 1992 to 1995 in my opinion, and aside from looking at the small ZR1 badge on the right side of the rear end, the easiest way  to tell a ZR1 from a normal Corvette with only a glance is to look at the centers of the rear wheels.  Because the ZR1 has tremendous 11 inch rear tires, the centers of the rear wheels are deep pockets vs. the normal Corvette's shallow recesses.

• Another easy way to tell you're looking at a ZR1 is to look at the rear tail-lights.  They are almost square because the back end of a ZR1 is 3 inches wider than a normal Corvette (again to accommodate the huge rear tires).