Extremely Rare 1990 Corvette ZR-1 Prototype with Active Suspension
One of perhaps two or three known surviving active suspension fourth generation Corvette prototypes is up for sale on eBay through Tuesday morning at the “Buy It Now” price of $89,500.
As it developed the fourth-generation ZR-1, General Motors built 25 such prototypes delivered to the Engineering Department in Bowling Green to take part in an active suspension project with Lotus.
With technology from the Formula 1 Lotus team, GM allocated $28 million to research and develop an intelligent digital/hydraulic active suspension management system that would adapt to road conditions, lateral handling, and corner balancing through a Delco computer. Production Corvettes never incorporated the system at the time because using it would have added $150,000 per car, making it ineffective cost-wise to say the least.
However, many of the same engineers who worked on the project later went on to develop a more affordable active handling system used from 1996 forward, with further refinements resulting in the introduction of Magnetic Selective Ride Control on the 2003 Corvette.
The seller says all but two of the prototypes were destroyed and this could be the only surviving ZR1 prototype. He claims that this car participated in numerous tests around the world, including Germany and Daytona, where it averaged 175 mph.
The car is identified with an experimental chassis number and has all the fully functional prototype equipment including the active self-leveling suspension 3000-psi hydraulic system, Delco computer, and sophisticated technology, according to the listing. Photos show some of the hydraulic system and its lines under the hood, as well as a panel for the active suspension system on the center console.
According to the eBay listing, the sale is slated to end at 10:49 a.m. on Tuesday (Feb.22) and will include an original copy of the GM assignation order and a bill of sale.
This car is believed to have survived all these years because it spent years on display at the GM Heritage Museum and then the National Corvette Museum. It has approximately 12,000 miles, nearly all from the original GM testing program.
Source:
eBay Motors via Silodrome.com
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