America’s “Lost Generation” of doggy cars (1974–1990) officially came to an end with the introduction of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 in March 1989 in Geneva, Switzerland. Suddenly, fast was good again and an 85-mph speedo was 100 percent too slow. The performance cars produced during the 1990s are new enough, safe enough, and well built enough to drive daily. Two decades later, their prices are bottoming out and collectors are snapping up the best.
One of the best sports cars of the ’90s is still largely underappreciated. It is powered by a Lotus-designed, all-aluminum, DOHC 32-valve 5.7-liter V-8 making 375 horsepower. The ZR1 package added a whopping $27,016 to the Corvette coupe’s $31,979 base price, and no one has gotten their money back yet. A 1993–’95 upgrade boosted output to 405 horsepower.