As a car enthusiast, nostalgia is a powerful influence when I think about what vehicles are on my bucket list. I don’t have much interest in the new vehicles made after the middle 2000s, and have a great amount of appetite for projects and basketcases from the middle 90s and older. Part of this reason this era was so unique had to do with the modification scene, which began growing in the late 80s and was an incredible force by the middle 90s in the car community at large. This 1994 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 here on eBay is perhaps the peak example of this approach to modifications, and is certainly reserved for people who came of age in a certain era.
The wild body kit certainly speaks for itself, with wild front and rear valences, a rear spoiler, the deletion of the rear hatch glass with a integrated body panel of sorts that forms a new C-pillar. The doors and rockers feature side strakes that are reminiscent of a Ferrari Testarossa, and the wheels are straight out of the Tire Rack’s 1995 collection (I used to loathe these things; now I’m starting to find them mildly attractive.) The interior also features a high degree of customization, including red color matching throughout and I’m sure a fairly wild stereo system.
There are photos showing this Corvette at various car shows, and it’s hardly surprising that the show circuit was a big deal to the owner. This was another chapter in this era of automotive tuning: going to shows and hoping for a trophy. Honestly, I don’t miss that era as it was never all that much fun to me to sit in a parking lot or a convention center hall for hours at a time, but for other enthusiasts, the street cred that came with a trophy was significant. This ZR-1 has been extensively modified under the hood as well, with numerous performance modifications in addition to plenty of bling.
The seller notes this Corvette is equipped with a Lingenfelter kit that increases displacement to 402 cubic inches among other modifications that increase horsepower to 530 at the rear wheels. Handling has also been improved with a DRM coilover suspension featuring Bilstein shocks and polyurethane bushings. The Corvette also has a short-shift kit, and numerous other upgrades. The seller has priced this custom ZR-1 with bidding set to open at $35,000 and a Buy-It-Now of $45,000. There’s no action yet, and I suspect it will take a buyer with very similar tastes to find a new home for this heavily modified ZR-1.
That cladding on the body is ugly and yes it was ugly on the Ferrari as well
Yeah, I cannot get past “ugly” either. Those late C4 ZR-1s are hard to externally modify and make them look ‘better’…thumbs up for the performance mods, however.
I wish I could give more thumbs up to your statement.
I like that it’s a ZR1 and the other mechanical mods that have been done (530 HP to the tires!), but I have to confess I never liked this body kit. And I really dislike the 3 spoke wheels. But it must be one helluva ride!
CT Dave
You very seldom get the money back you put into customizing a car when you re-sell.
The drivetrain mods are impressive but everything else is subjective.
“Other people’s projects” is a thing for a reason.
Oh my!
The perfect Corvette to celebrate your inner mullet!
I had a bad hankering for a Daytona body kit for awhile. This one has aged well I think
Having owned a completely stock’91 I can honestly say that this is not what I would have wanted, but hey it was the 90’s after all.
Kinda reminds me of the song “Too much is not enough”
A zr1 made to look like a dodge viper, how very weird and failed
So they take a rare Corvette and modify it way too much. Part of the appeal is that it was a ZR1, now that’s gone. It would have been better to use a base model Vette for this. Good luck with the sale though. I bet its a good track car as well.
I agree with a great deal of comments already made about this thing. I can imagine that with those Lingenfelter modifications to an already potent motor that the performance is eye popping. Probably handles pretty well as well. The positive observations unfortunately stop there. That they did this to a Z-R1 is really, truly a shame.
Yep. Wonder how hard it would be to return the body to stock. Subtract the cost to do that from the asking price, then we can talk.
It wouldn’t be hard to return the bodywork to stock. The front quarter panel behind the front wheels and the “notchback” ae bolt on items. The rear glass is ZR-1 specific, but it’s less than $250 on ebay. Just get the stock parts and replace as necessary. The hood isn’t stock, it’s got flared fenders. Not sure if the ZR1 hood is different from the stock hood. The doors pare the toughest part as those ugly grated panels are likely glued on. Most likely though they are glued on over the stock doors, but in the worst case you can replace the doors too, they aren’t that expensive, around 200-300 each. Not positive but ZR-1’s had fatter rear fenders and the doors could have been a bit different than the regular cars. The seat covers are also “special”, but you can get seat kits for very reasonable prices. If the other mods are what you’re looking for then it could be a deal. I’d just put the back glass back in and get rid of the cladding on the doors and call it done. For a few thousand dollars you can get it back to close enough to stock.
When the value of the ZR-1 increases to a certain point, this will be returned to stock, as El Grecko mentions.
Just think back to all of the custom C2s you saw in the mid 70s. Most of them are now driving around as if they just came out of the factory.
It looks like a Testarossa and a Viper had a thing one night, then about a year later this showed up. It looks nice, sounds like it goes fast, and has a slot for Primus’ Pork Soda cassette I’ve been hanging on to.
Do the people that do these “customizations” REALLY think it enhances the value of the car? SMH
Some do, some don’t. As is it started as an original ZR1, any mod is going to detract from its value. Had they started with a plain jane C4, it would have been worth it. It’s kind of like putting an LS motor in a Porsche 911, you could do it, but it won’t help the value of the car.
Definitely the worst looking ZR1 Corvette I’ve ever seen.
In my opinion C4 Corvettes are not terribly attractive to start with, but they are certainly much better looking than this thing.
That front license plate insert is gold to us C4 owners.
Is that something that Chevrolet offered?
As I understand it, it was something that could be ordered through the Chevy dealerships back in the day. I have seen a couple of them floating around now and then for sale on the interwebs, but they are super rare & pretty expensive. Would love to have one for my 1992 C4.
I’m guessing that these modifications were done when it was relatively new, so no real thought for the value of the original car.
Even with all of these costly modifications, I would be surprised if this will sell for what a purely stock ZR-1 would sell for.
Plus, the buyer list is drastically reduced. Better off finding a specialty consignor for this one.
Of course it won’t sell for what an original would sell for, the person that did these modifications made sure of that. A well cared for ZR-1.will sell for some fairly serious money, but not something like this.