F-Body Europe

now put them in a timeline. Your comparing 2 cars that are 12 years apart. In 1990 the ZR1 was posting Z06 numbers.

Yes, but so was a Porsche 928 GT. I can recall the "CAR" magazine back to back test (still got it!) where, you guessed it, they chose the Porsche. They pretty much dissed the ZR1 on any number of grounds for failing to match up to the Porsche.
The difference is that this month, EVO magazine have tested the new Porsche Carrera 4S vs TVR Tuscan S vs BMW M Coupe vs NSX vs Z06. The Porsche won the test for it's complete capability in every area asked of it, the NSX coming 2nd for it's intoxicating handling finesse, while the remainder "tied" for 3rd. Bear in mind that despite the inflated import price, the Porsche is still £14k more and the NSX £10k more. But this doesn't tell the whole story, the article was, for once, full of abject praise for the sheer power and poise of the Z06 and it's ability to put it to the ground effectively, constantly tormenting the tail of the technically superior 4WD Porsche and comprehensively outgunning the M Coupe and the other cars with it's huge any gear, any time grunt (the TVR being ultimately faster but surprisingly more wayward on the corners) Against a Tuscan S weighing considerably less, that is praise indeed. I'm sure that it would have fared much better had it not been a £50000 import, lhd with a cheap cabin (their main criticisms). It does demonstrate that regardless of the 12 years, the ZR1, in it's time, was as much hype as capability and was not yet the world class supercar it was touted as (although I would happily compromise to own one by the loss of a few limbs). The Z06 shows that the Corvette has not only joined the ranks of the world's finest cars but has joined them with authority and style and proves that when the Americans want to, they are quite capable of making one of the best cars in the world. If only the Americans were USED to paying more for their cars, I'm sure it could be even better.