New car news

23 June 2009 - 11:00

Hard Cor’

Good news for tyres: the Corvette ZR-1 will get a fancy traction control system in 2010. Of course, that's bad news for Real Men who like faintly terrifying moments of oversteer and inhale tyre smoke like it's pure oxygen.

For the rest of us, it means the ZR-1 has become a slightly more manageable beast. It gets a proper launch control system, too - push the throttle flush to the floor and computers (or Performance Traction Management, as Chevy calls it) will sort the rest out for you. If there's grip, it'll whack the power down. If not, it'll just dial out your clumsy input and send less shove to the wheels.

So it operates like most other systems, only PTM has to work harder to contain the ZR-1's enormous 6.2-litre supercharged V8. And 475kW.
 
2010-model cars will also get side airbags. With GM's future still a bit shady, we don't know if you'll be able to import one officially. Our advice is to start building some sort of rudimentary ark, so if it all goes wrong you can just sail on over and pick it up yourself.

Now watch Jeremy thrash the lunatic ZR-1 in the boys' second big US trip: