The 1971 Corvette would establish to be much what the 70s brought in the way of Vettes. The increasing federal regulations on fuel economy and emissions control caused the machine to be more balanced then the previous year’s model. The model would also demonstrate to be a bit tamer. Regrettably for the engineers at GM this would become routine for several years to come.

The 1971 Corvette’s base model small block had a reduction in compression ratio and it only ran on an extremely timid 8:5:1 compression which saw a decrease in power to a measly 270 bhp. In 1971 the mighty LT1 small block was stripped of its power and only put out 330 bhp as opposed to the 370 bhp it’s used to. The decrease in compression was responsible for the loss of horsepower, just like the base model engine. This ill-fated development also bled into the big blocks and the LS5 saw a yield of 365 bhp and the latest LS6 with an aluminum head yielded 425 bhp.

Even with these numbers being impressive, no matter how you look at them the loss of power was obvious enough at the time and led to many disappointed enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the engineer’s hands were tied and they squeezed out all the power they could. Although, it appeared that nobody may have wanted it, but the fact remained at the end of the day an end to an era had occurred. The day of the supervised and restricted muscle car engine has arrived and this left GM to make the best of their position.

To try to fight the Federal regulators, GM came up with a couple of special packages for the 1971 Corvette. These packages included:

ZR1: This was offered with the LT1 and featured a special racing package that incorporated solid lifters for the small block. Other distinguished improvements were a heavy duty four-speed transmission, upgraded suspension, power brakes, and an aluminum radiator. Even with the package being extremely nice, it was also expensive and saw a modest amount of the 1971 Corvettes equipped as such.

ZR2: This was basically the ZR1 package with the LS6 424 V-8. While the installation of the ZR1 only totaled 176, total installation for the ZR2 package was a scant 12.

While the options of both packages were indeed performance boosting the added cost combined with the fact that the packages could not come with such power options as power windows and power locks because it was a performance package, probably hurt the 1971 Corvette rather than help it.

Although there were virtually no changes done to the 1971 Corvette, sales were relatively good. With the combination of a complete year of production and a hearty supply, the 1971 Corvette sold 21,801 units for the model year which was a welcomed recover from the poor sales in 1970. The Federal Regulations continued as the decade went on, but for the Shark Generation of the Vette, it would establish to be a stubborn one and maintain to hold its own; even if it wasn’t as much as the top dogs at GM wanted.

For more info or questions in regards to The 1971 Corvette please see us at www.smokinvette.com

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