2012 Chevrolet Corvette Centennial Edition ZR1

Reaching 100 years is a milestone for any business. And, now that the Chevrolet brand has done just that, we couldn’t think of a better way to help them celebrate the bowtie brigade hitting triple digit years, than by hitting triple digit speeds… in a Centennial Edition Corvette ZR1!

We took our triple-digit party to Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah, Georgia where instead of lighting candles, we lit the tires of this 2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Centennial Edition. 

But, before we took off, we took in what the Centennial Edition package adds to the ZR1 - a deep Carbon Flash Metallic paint job accompanied by satin-black trim, satin-black wheels with red stripes, and some new 100th anniversary badging. It’s a great looking package with a version available for every 2012 Corvette. The remainder is all hardly typical fixed-roof ZR1. Front fenders, peek-a-boo hood, and roof panel are all carbon fiber, while low-lying HID headlights are standard.

Even though it’s nearing the end of its life-cycle, the long wheelbase, long hood, small-cockpit, short rear deck design of the C6 still looks great to us. New to the ZR1 this year, is an available PDE performance package that includes a full width rear spoiler and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires - 285/30/19’s up front and 335/25/20’s in the rear; that’s a lot of rubber on the road.

And we put it to good use through Roebling Road’s high speed turns and came away very impressed. The tires stuck like crazy, but on the downside, that just made it harder to predict when they would stop sticking, making it not as confidence inspiring as previous ZR1’s we’ve had here at Roebling, but faster none-the-less. All that corner stickiness is also achieved with the ZR1’s Performance Traction Management system that works with Traction Control, Active Handling, and Selective Ride Control to give you full power only when you, or the car, can handle it. 

On track, the ZR1 remains rough around the edges, but still a great handler that’s brutally fast, while also being remarkable dossal to drive on the street.

The seats have supposedly been re-designed for this year, but they’re still not great for track or street work. Brakes however, are phenomenal. Through two days of Roebling round-d-rounds they never showed any signs of fading, and only after all of that, did we do straight line brake testing from 60 and averaged a short 118 feet.

As you can expect, straight line acceleration is even more impressive. Getting the ZR1 to launch takes a bit of patience, but once you get rolling there’s big power all the way to red line. Clutch is heavy, but perfect for getting good feel for launching and the shifter is extremely precise, clicking the close-ratio gearbox through the gears like a sport-bike. 

0-60 is dispatched in just 3.5-seconds, while keeping the throttle buried for 11.8-seconds will get you to the end of the ¼ mile at 126 miles-per-hour.  All of that brute-force power comes from GM’s familiar LS9 supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Old-school push-rods and all, it pumps out 638-horsepower and 604 pound feet of torque. 

One area where the C6 Corvette really shows is in the look of the interior and the feel of the materials that go with it. All Vettes do get some updates for ’12 including the aforementioned seats with suede inserts, a new steering wheel, and slightly redesigned center console. The Centennial Edition gain a splash of “100” logos throughout the cabin and a leather-wrapped instrument panel and door trim, both with exposed red stitching. 

Let’s hope the soon to arrive C7 Vette has an interior that’s truly equal to the world class status of the rest of the car. But despite the dated cabin environment, and unlike most exotic, the ZR1 Corvette is a well versed, dependable daily driver.  

And in the spirit of daily driving, Government Fuel Economy Ratings for the ZR1 Corvette continue to be impressive for a car with true supercar performance, burning through a gallon of premium every 14 miles in the City, 21 on the Highway, and 17 in mixed use.

Unfortunately, you’ll also have to burn through a ton of cash to put a ZR1 Centennial Edition in your driveway, adding $4,950 to the ZR1’s base price of $113,575, for a total of $118,525.

Corvettes have always been one of our favorite vehicles for slicing up a racetrack, and it was truly our pleasure to help GM slice up some anniversary cake with this 2012 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Centennial Edition. Congratulations! And here’s to another 100 years of Bow-tie badness!