Fast, Present, Future: 1967 Lotus 49 vs. 2013 Corvette ZR1

Alexander Rossi pits performance icons from different eras against each other at COTA.
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By John Krewson Photos by Brent Humphries

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Photos: 1967 Lotus 49 vs. 2013 Corvette ZR1


We’re standing by the track, at the beginning of the esses, as the most important race car ever built whips by on its first lap. It’s a 1967 Lotus 49, the greatest Formula 1 car in history, the machine that changed road racing more than any other. And on top of that, as it pitches under braking and the driver’s hands dart up and this animal yowl cascades from its exhaust, the Lotus is simply beautiful.
In a moment like this, it’s tempting to say that it could be 1967 all over again. But the man behind the wheel is Caterham F1 test driver Alexander Rossi, 21, currently the only U.S. driver in F1. He is young and confident and has never driven a car like this. Rossi is screaming around the weeks-old Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the first and only purpose-built Formula 1 track in the United States. And we’re here to see if this 46-year-old Lotus is faster than the best American supercar money can buy.
No, it couldn’t be any other time than right now.
On the simplest level, we went to Austin to compare lap times. But beyond that, we wanted to know one thing: How far have we come?


It’s an all-time great barroom argument, and it has a different answer every time you ask. But we’re concerned with right now, and right now, part of the answer comes from the fact that we went to Austin to ask the question.
This country’s F1 record is spotty at best. Only two world champion titles—Phil Hill in 1961, Mario Andretti in 1978—have come from our shores, a pittance compared with places like Germany or England, and it’s been 35 years since an American won a Grand Prix. From 1961 to 1980, F1 races were held at the permanent road course outside Watkins Glen, New York, but after that, we were treated to years of makeshift tracks laid out on the streets of unappreciative cities or crammed inside preexisting ovals. One was even half-assed into the parking lot of a Las Vegas casino.
The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a noble experiment. It’s an all-in bet that Americans will actually show up to an F1 race year after year, and in numbers large enough to justify a $400 million facility. The track was co-developed by German architect Hermann Tilke, F1’s de facto official circuit designer, essentially legitimizing it. And when the vastly entertaining U.S. Grand Prix went off without a hitch last November, Americans were given hope that their home and the world’s coolest sport might actually get along.
The same optimism informed our choice of street car. The outgoing 638-hp Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was the only possible choice. Its performance is world-class; its components—magnetorheological dampers, carbon-ceramic brakes, carbon-fiber bodywork—are high-tech but simple. And it’s as fundamentally American as a car can be, with its supercharged V-8, patchy family history, and relative-bargain $113,595 sticker.
Chiefly, the ZR1 is the first American car to genuinely measure up, one of the few machines that can make a Ferrari driver think he’s wasted his money. It’s not the prettiest or the priciest, but it’s the hometown star, the first truly compelling contender we’ve had. Its humble origins and approachable talent make it one of the most impressive supercars on the market.
And the Lotus deserves nothing less than the best competition. The 49 marked the apex of its time, before aerodynamic grip and massive corporate sponsorship changed racing forever. It’s the golden era writ large and the coolest artifact from the last time America had an emotional, long-term relationship with Formula 1.
But where are we now?

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