Claudio D'Andrea
October 21, 2022
On those rare occasions that Mark Tesolin takes his precious Corvette ZR1 on the road, he hears the same two questions and his answers are always the same.
“Do you know how rare your car is?” Well, yes.
“Is it for sale?” Um, no.
Tesolin is the proud owner of the 2009 Vette, which he calls a beast of a machine. It was the most powerful production car in the history of GM, with a 6.2-liter, 638 hp supercharged LS9 V-8 engine that hit 100 kmh in just 3.3 seconds.
He says his jet stream blue model, nicknamed the Blue Devil, is the same one that appeared as a concept car in the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Only 1,415 units of the ZR1 were produced, making it a sought-after car, and its seven-speed manual transmission a mouthwatering dream car for Corvette owners driving automatic machines.
Tesolin says his baby is fun to drive — on those few times he takes it out for a spin. With only about 30,000 kms on the odometer he says it’s in “showroom condition” and the threat of rain will keep it inside.
“It’s a rare piece,” says the Corvette Club of Windsor member who says he hasn’t seen another ZR1 in Windsor-Essex.
The ZR also sits low — real low — so not every driveway is forgiving. Tesolin says he had a hard time even finding a place where he can take his Vette for an oil change until one shop owner was able to set up wood ramps on to his existing ramps.
Tesolin bought the car from a Windsor GM dealer a few years ago. At the time, he also owned a 2007 Corvette that had been converted to a Z06. Under the hood of the black convertible was a red engine with chrome accents and he kept both Vettes until 2020 when he sold the Z06.
He misses the convertible but says his ZR1 is “special.” He’s not sure what its value is except that it is easily in the $100,000 US range.
The ZR1 has “every option you can imagine” on it, he says. That includes navigation systems, ceramic brakes, carbon fibre features and heads-up display on the windshield.
Tesolin, a real estate salesperson, says a colleague once raced him in his Ferrari and marvelled at the speed of the ZR1. He says exotic cars like that European model are fast, but his car is “a different kind of fast.”
The ZR1 is “a scary fast,” he says.
“The ZR1 is a beast. It’s insane.”