Video: 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1: First Impressions

Well, let me tell you, here it is. This is the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 in coup and in convertible form. It's the first time we've had a convertible ZR1 since the 1970s. And it may just be the least expensive over 200-mile-an-hour car with a convertible top that you can buy. It's coming early next year, and wait till you get a load of some of these numbers. The numbers on this thing are astonishing. 750 horsepower from a supercharged 6.2 liter LT5 V8. That is a larger supercharger than you can get in the Z06, which used to be the king of the hill. Now this one's the king of the hill. 715 pound feet of torque. It's got 19-inch wheels up front, 20-inch the back. They're Michelin Sport Cup tires, Sport Cup 2 if you get the special ZTK performance pack. You've got standard carbon ceramic brakes, and check out this hood. There a lot of carbon fiber in this car. These pieces here are actually attached to the engine. This whole part lifts up separately, but this actually shakes when you fire up the engine. Supposedly the view from inside is pretty cool. You've got a whole new front clip as well. Check out the three big air openings down there. This has to cool the supercharged engine. It's blowing a lot of air, it makes a lot of heat, it makes a lot of power. Now there's a couple of different options when it comes to the spoiler on this car. This is the high wing. You can also get a low wing. But this is the one that's truly outrageous. Made out of carbon fiber, it's adjustable if you want to change the actual setting of it. It rakes for about five degrees. And it generates 1000 pounds of downforce. Now that's not connected to the hatch. It's actually connected to an aluminum truss that goes through the rear fascia and onto the bumper beam. So that thousand pounds is actually stuck to the car, which sticks it to the ground a lot better than you would just a normal smaller wing. Now the performance numbers on the ZR1 are outstanding as well. Zero to 60 in less than three seconds, a top speed of 212 miles an hour. That's for either the coup or the convertible. Imagine a drop top with the wind in your hair at 212 miles an hour. It'll do the quarter mile in the high 10 seconds. Now we're not talking Dodge Demon kinds of numbers, but then this isn't meant to do what a Dodge Demon does. And when you really want to talk about some numbers, the coup starts at just under $120,000. The convertible will cost you about $4,000 more. Now, Chevrolet hasn't said how many of these they're going to build, but they're going to start becoming available in spring of next year. You can read more about the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the L.A. Auto Show at cars.com.