The Chevrolet Corvette has been an American performance icon since the original Blue Flame six-cylinder engine was replaced with a V8. Through six generations, the Corvette has built on its legacy as an attainable sports car rippling with Detroit-bred muscle. Certainly there have been many milestones through the decades that can warm Bowtie enthusiasts’ hearts, often signaled by option codes, engine designations, and displacement figures, like ZL-1, 427, L-88, Z06, LT4, ZR-1, LS2, and many others.

Consequently, when General Motors issued its latest press release, "Corvette ZR1 By The Numbers," we were eager to saturate our brains in the latest ‘Vette factoids. After all, the last Corvette we tested was a thrilling burnt-orange Z06 that combined real-world civility with ferocious track potential. Even in a test group that included the high-performance war hammer Dodge Viper, pampering Mercedes-Benz SL550, and benchmark Porsche 911, the Corvette impressed our team.

Diving in to the marketing brief, we soon realized the horsepower figure wasn’t there. Isn’t horsepower the number with a performance car? (Being ‘Vette obsessive, we conjured the 638-hp number from a previous release.)

GM released a bunch of numbers, big and small, such as the price (big) and fuel economy (small).

The official figures include:

• $103,300 – base price
• Top speed – 205 mph
• 0-60 mph –3.4 seconds
• Quarter-mile –11.3 seconds at 131 mph
• Fuel economy, EPA – 14 city / 20 highway mpg

Those all add up to what promises to be the highest-performance Corvette in history and a solid super car competitor on the world stage.

However, reading the less interesting numbers, we found that the sole options package for $10,000 brings a variety of niceties, like Bose premium audio system, navigation system, Bluetooth connectivity, and power telescoping steering column. It also includes side air bags.

That’s right; at just over $100 grand, the ZR1 doesn’t include side air bags. But, it does tack on a $1,700 gas-guzzler tax.

We wouldn’t buy a subcompact car without side air bags, let alone a ground-based road missile.

So, the Corvette ZR1 is effectively $115,000, skimping on the $2,000 chrome wheels. Or the cost of five Mazda Miatas.

In the end, it all adds up to a serious thrill ride.

—Jeff Bartlett and Mike Quincy