Owning a Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1

‘It’s a genuine supercar that can be fixed with a set of spanners – probably the last of its kind you can say that of,’ says Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 owner Alan Lewis. ‘Aside from the engine, it’s pretty-much all standard Chevrolet Corvette C4, and therefore mechanically simple. Lotus designed the engine, but it was built by Mercury Marine and subjected to the durability testing regime it used for powerboats, where it was redlined from idle. It has thicker internal castings than the standard Chevrolet small-block V8, so despite having more complicated valve gear, it’s probably more reliable than the standard Corvette. I’ve driven this car all over Europe, including high-speed German autobahn runs.

‘The electronic adjustable damping system often fails, but most owners just disconnect it. ZR-1 replacement body panels are hard to come by and expensive though.’