The announcement was clear: “It is very important for Corvette, to offer the strongest, most high performance and best sports car in terms of handling in the USA.” With these words the former chairman of General Motors Rick Wagoner set his engineers a clear goal around two years ago, which also included trumping the Dodge Viper SRT10, which was shown at the Detroit Car Show shortly before, in all regards.

The technicians got to work and so the next year the persons responsible were able to proudly unveil the quickest and highest performance series vehicle ever produced by General Motors: the Corvette ZR1.

Under the sheer endlessly long bonnet of the ZR1 lurks a newly developed LS96.2 litre small block V8 with compressor supercharging. Pressurised by the Eaton R2300 compressor with up to 0.72 bar, this primitive engine gets up to 647 HP and a maximum torque of 823Nm.

Further technical highlights of the extreme Corvette are its high performance breaking system with their 394 and 381 mm diameter carbon ceramic discs, as well as the electronically controlled suspension “Magnetic Selective Ride Control” with track level suspension mounting. Bonnet, roof, sill, rear wing and front spoiler are made of super light, but at the same time high strength carbon.

GeigerCars.de from Munich, which has specialised in the import and refinement of US cars for years, has not only brought this extreme sportsman from the United States to Germany, it has also optionally subjected it to diverse tuning measures at the same time – the first example of the Corvette ZR1 “Geiger GTS” will be presented to the world public at the 63rd International Automobile Exhibition at Frankfurt am Main from 17th to 27th September.

The datasheet for the Corvette ZR1 “Geiger GTS” shows 710 HP maximum performance with 6,600 rotations per minute and the car produces gigantic 918 Nm on the crankshaft at only 4,200 revs. Set up in this way the ZR1 storms up to 100km/h in just 3.6 seconds, and at the same time nails the back of the occupants’ head to the head rest of the Geiger carbon sport seats. The propulsion only ends at a speed of 342 kilometres per hour.

At these values the hardest work is done by the 10 x 19 and 12 x 20 inch high performance tyres mounted on light metal rims with the dimensions 285/30ZR19 at the front and 345/25ZR20 at the rear tyres.

Of course GeigerCars extensively modified the look of the Corvette, lending it a styling, which is reminiscent of the large Gran Turismos of the 60’s and 70’s. The front and back were extensively modified; a wide air vent dominates the nose, while a massive diffuser attracts attention at the back. Both the fog and rear lights are based on modern LED semiconductive technology. The three layer mother of pearl varnish of the Corvette ZRI “Geiger GTS” with changing colour play is also a real eye catcher.

The trio is complete. After the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet perfects the revival of the legendary pony cars with the new Camaro.

From 1966 to 2002 Chevrolet manufactured four generations of the Camaro. First series models that are in very good condition are prized collectors items. When the US manufacturer unveiled the concept model of a totally new Camaro at the Detroit Motor Show in 2005, the public response was so outstanding that the series production of a fifth generation of the four-seater coupé was decided and with that, the remake of an American legend. The new vehicle no longer has anything in common with the often unpopular fourth generation car. In fact, the designers have combined retro elements and modern shapes, designed an aggressive front end, a bulky rear as well as stylish sides and roof – an unmistakable homage to the muscle cars of the sixties and seventies. In the last few days, one of the first new Camaros arrived by plane from across the Pond and rolled from the airport right into the GeigerCars.de showroom in Munich. As of now, you can not only marvel at the four-seater coupé, you can also order one there…

The Camaro LS and LT models are already fitted with a superior 308 horsepower 3.6 litre V6 engine. The modern light metal engine generates 5200 revolutions per minute, an impressive 370 newton metres. The design of the SS (SuperSport) model engaged V8 with a superior 6.2 cylinder capacity is even more notably defined. This is available in two variations which perform up to 432 HP and send a maximum torque of 569 newton metres towards the powertrain. On the subject of the powertrain: the six and eight cylinder engines can be combined with both a six-speed manual transmission and six-speed automatic transmission. Needless to say, the Camaro is equipped with rear wheel drive. The chassis is modern: Chevrolet has installed a Multi-Link strut front suspension and an independent rear suspension. There are adjustable coil springs, gas-assisted shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar fitted on both front and rear.

All round ventilated anti-lock disc brakes are standard in all Camaro models. Chevrolet equips the V8 models with factory-provided four- piston Brembo brakes which measure 355×32mm and 365×28mm.

The Super Sport models separate themselves from the rest by their colour coded finished bumpers, special front grille, low rear spoiler with diffuser, air scoop and air ducts for cooling the brakes. The mandatory rear spoiler is also available for the LT models at an additional cost. The SS coupés run on 8×20 and 9×20 inch light metal wheels and 245/45R20 front tyres and 275/40R2 rear tyres as standard.

However, Karl Geiger would not be the man he is if he could not already provide an extensive tuning programme for the new Camaro. The house specialty is the famously sophisticated compressor reconstruction. With a mechanical compressor, Geiger pushes the engine power of the Camaro SS to a roaring 568 HP. At 4100 rpm, the maximum torque is 799N m. The hot flue gas stream leaves the combustion chamber via a fan-type elbow with sport catalysts and roars through the stainless steel Geiger manufactured sport exhaust system.

A two plate sport clutch is responsible for the traction with the transmission. After the reduction of the end gear ratio, the Geiger Camaro reaches an impressive 314km/hr and even shows up the Porsche 911 GT3.

In order to have this power totally under control, GeigerCars.de have not only installed coilovers and adjustable sports anti-roll bars on front and rear axels but also a strong braking system. At the front there are six piston saddles with grooved 380mm plates and four piston saddles on 355mm (grooved) brake discs operate the drive shaft.

The 10×22 inch light metal frames are real gems which the Munich firm embrace with 265/30
and 295/25 tyres.