GM considered taking on the Dodge Viper with a V-12-powered Chevrolet Corvette

Sporting an 8.-liter V-10, the original Dodge Viper critically outgunned the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette C4. So Basic Motors resolved to fall a V-12 into the ‘Vette as a achievable way to compete.

First noticed by Road & Keep track of, this video clip from YouTube channel DtRockstar1 displays the V-12 Corvette prototype—dubbed “ZR-12″—at the Countrywide Corvette Museum in Bowling Eco-friendly, Kentucky. The prototype is thoroughly drivable, and sounds superb.

That seem is created by a 600-cubic-inch (approximately 10.-liter) V-12 created by Ryan Falconer Racing Engines. The all-aluminum engine created a claimed 686 hp and 680 lb-ft of torque when new—eclipsing the contemporary Viper’s 400 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque—and weighed about the exact as an iron-block V-8.

Per the online video, the ZR-12 also managed an 11.6-next quarter mile run at 133 mph in a March 1993 Motor Craze test.

When new, the ZR-12 even had Viper-like side pipes, while these ended up subsequently removed. Today, the car or truck has a twin exhaust procedure a lot more like that of a inventory C4 Corvette. The wheels were altered at some issue as perfectly.

The ZR-12 by no means went into creation. Chevy experienced now put in a large amount of time and income creating the 380-hp V-8 Corvette ZR-1, which, along with later on Z06 and ZR1 (minus the hyphen) variants, took the fight to the Viper. Today, the Viper is long gone, but Chevy is about to start the 2023 Corvette Z06 with a 670-hp flat-plane crank V-8. Future Corvettes are envisioned to use a hybrid powertrain, combining a V-8 and electrical motors, and an all-electric powered powertrain, for excess electricity, so it is unlikely that we’ll ever see an additional manufacturing unit-backed attempt at a V-12 Corvette.