Corvette ZR-12 was Designed to Be a Viper Killer with V12 Power

One of the coolest experimental cars of all-time, the Corvette ZR-12, makes some seriously amazing sounds.

When the Dodge Viper came along in the early 1990s, you can’t blame General Motors for feeling a little bit threatened. For decades, the Corvette had been America’s only sports car, and now a challenger had suddenly appeared, with V10 power to boot. Thus, the Corvette engineering team decided to partner up with Ryan Falconer Industries, makers of GM-based marine engines, to build something specifically designed to be a real Viper killer. The result was this – the Corvette ZR-12.

GM started with a regular old C4 Corvette, then stretched the front portion of the chassis by eight inches to make room for its new V12 powerplant – which was based on the iconic small block Chevy V8. The special engine produced a stout 683 horsepower and 680 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to the fact that the 9.9-liter mill was formed from aluminum instead of iron, the Corvette ZR-12 only weighed around 100 pounds more than a stock C4.

Regardless, there were several problems with this interesting project that kept it from reaching production. The first is cost. The engine alone carried a price tag of around $60,000, almost double the cost of a new 1992 Corvette itself. Perhaps GM could have sold the ZR-12 as a high-dollar, ultimate Corvette, but it clearly decided that it wasn’t worth the effort.

The other problem is the fact that the Corvette ZR-12 wasn’t exactly great to drive, either. It was subjected to a few car magazine tests after the project was finished, and promptly overheated at the track. It was also reportedly a little sketchy to drive, as the elongated chassis upset the handling characteristics quite a bit. Regardless, out on the drag strip, it managed to run an impressive 11.6-second quarter-mile pass.

Thus, GM’s engineering team eventually abandoned their rather awesome project and the Corvette ZR-12 was relegated to storage for several years. It eventually made its way to the GM Heritage Center, then to the National Corvette Museum, where it lives today. It was there that YouTuber DtRockstar1 recently managed to not only snag some video of the car, but was also able to convince the museum to drag it outside and give it some revs.

This clip is a nice reminder of one of the coolest Corvettes ever conceived, and one that we wish would have seen the light of day. But even though it didn’t, it’s nice to see that GM decided to keep this little engineering marvel around for future generations to enjoy.

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