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This car was created by Doug Rippie. His claim to fame was the Corvette Challenge Series. Rippie loved racing Corvettes in the US, but, his life-long dream was to take on the world-class marques at Le Mans. So, when Chevy introduced the C4 ZR1 the opportunity was opened up. Via his collaboration with MerCruiser and Lotus Engineering, all with Chevy’s blessing, the "Black Widow" program created special street and race versions of the LT5 engine. This engine made 525hp.
Another decade – another milestone anniversary edition Corvette. However, the 2003 model year was especially significant as it marked the 50th year of the Corvette’s production at Chevrolet.  To commemorate a half-century of manufacturing, every Corvette built in 2003 was adorned with special “50th Anniversary” badging – a unique “50” badge on each of the front fenders above the bodyside coves, and a special crossed flags badge that included “50 Anniversary” badging.
There were several successful attempts to build a convertible ZR-1, most of them by private people. The DR-1 was a GM prototype to test the structural integrity of the ZR-1 chassis when it would be topless. The car was built by American Sunroof Corporation (ASC) for Don Runkle, who was the vice-president of Advanced Engineering Staff, which explains the “DR-1” designation. It was a standard convertible transformed to ZR-1 specs.
2019 Corvette ZR1 in Sebring, Orange
The Corvette ZR1 features an LT5 6.2L V-8 supercharged engine which dramatically advances the supercharging technologies first introduced in the 2009 sixth-generation Corvette ZR1 and continued with the 2015 seventh-generation Z06 Corvette. The engine, which is officially rated with an SAE-certified 755 horsepower (563 kW) and 715 lb-ft of torque (969Nm), establishes an entirely new benchmark in Chevrolet performance.