WEBVTT - How the Corvette ZR1 Works

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<v Speaker 1>Get smarter in sixty seconds with brain Stuff from how

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<v Speaker 1>stuffworks dot com. Hi, I'm Marshall brain GM has announced

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<v Speaker 1>the two thousand nine Corvette z R one and it

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<v Speaker 1>looks spectacular. The most obvious thing that you can see

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<v Speaker 1>from the outside is the amount of carbon. The hood,

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<v Speaker 1>the front fenders, and the roof are all made of

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<v Speaker 1>carbon instead of fiberglass. All that carbon makes the car lighter.

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<v Speaker 1>The second thing you see from the outside of the brakes,

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<v Speaker 1>which are massive and made of carbon ceramic compound. The

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<v Speaker 1>third thing you see is the engine, part of which

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<v Speaker 1>is visible through a small window in the hood. Opening

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<v Speaker 1>the hood, you can see it in all its glory.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a six point two leader eight cylinder power plant

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<v Speaker 1>able to produce six and twenty horsepower. The key to

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<v Speaker 1>producing that much horsepower is a supercharger. Think of a

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<v Speaker 1>supercharger as a big air pump that pressurizes the air

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<v Speaker 1>coming into the engine. More air coming in means that

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<v Speaker 1>the engine can burn more a saline per stroke. To

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<v Speaker 1>make it even better, there's an intercooler attached to the supercharger.

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<v Speaker 1>The intercooler is a system that cools down the pressurized

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<v Speaker 1>air to make it even denser. Add all this together

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<v Speaker 1>and you have a light car with huge power that

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<v Speaker 1>can go over two miles per hour. It should be

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<v Speaker 1>able to go from zero to sixty in less than

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<v Speaker 1>three and a half seconds. Do you have any ideas

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<v Speaker 1>or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and thousands of other topics, go

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<v Speaker 1>to how stuff works dot com.