The data is unambiguous on current economic conditions - GDP growth in the last quarter of 2015 was a meager 2.11 % with full year growth of 2.79 % according
to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS); inflation rose sharply
to 11.4 % in February with prospects of
reaching 12 %
by March; capital markets have remained bearish; according
to UNCTAD Nigeria's FDI fell
by 27.7 %
to $ 3.4 billion in 2015, and on current trends may fall even
more precipitously in 2016; the de facto exchange rate of the Naira for most producers and consumers is now N322 / $ even though CBN maintains a nominal N197 / $ for privileged
persons; several economic sectors - construction, government, manufacturing, oil and gas and hotels and restaurants are in recession or barely
out of it; government's official foreign reserves is down
to $ 27.8 bn; and unemployment and under - employment rates have worsened 10.4 % and 18.7 %
by the end of 2015.
With 755 horsepower the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette zr1 is the most powerful Corvette ever it's also the most technologically advanced behind me are the rolling s's at Road Atlanta and we're here
to see if we can
reach to the supercar levels of performance afforded
by this thing's massive power big tires and the tall wing on the back after that we'll take
to the streets
to see if a car this powerful can behave itself in public this is a monster of a car I've had some brief track opportunities moving this morning
to get used
to the pace of this machine which is phenomenal we're gonna warm up as we get
out to the road Atlanta and sort of build up
to the pace that this car can operate at now initially when you hop in this car you have this shrine
to the engine right above you you see the line of the hood it kind of dominates the center of the view you can see over it it doesn't affect visibility but it's immediately obvious and that kind of speaks
to what makes this car special it's a monster of an engine listen
to that [Music] that is tremendous tremendous acceleration and incredible power but what I finding so far my brief time here at the Atlanta is that everything else in the car is rut has risen
to match hurt me while I lay into it on the back straight look you know 150 mile - an - hour indicated we're going
to ease up a little bit on it because I need
to focus on talking rather than driving but like I was saying the attributes of the rest of the car the steering the braking capability the grip every system of this car is riding
to the same level of the power and I think that's what makes it really impressive initially this is undoubtedly a mega mega fast car but it's one that doesn't terrify you with its performance potential there's a level of electronic sophistication that is unparalleled at this price point but it's hard not
to get you know totally slipped away
by the power of this engine so that's why I keep coming back
to it this car has an electronically controlled limited slip differential it has shocks filled with magnetically responsive fluid that can react faster
to inputs and everything this car has a super sophisticated stability control system that teaches you how
to drive it quick but also makes you go faster we haven't even gotten into exploring it yet because the limits of this car are so high that frankly it takes a while
to grow into it but [Music] I think what's impressive about this car is despite how fast it is it is approachable you can buy this car
to track dates with it and grow with it as a driver and as an owner I think that's a really special [Music] because you will never be
more talented than this car is fast ever unless you are a racing driver casually grazing under 50 miles an hour on this straight okay I'm just going
to enjoy driving this now [Music][Applause][Music] this particular Corvette zr1 comes with the cars track performance package a lot of those changes happen underneath the sheet metal but one of the big differences that is immediately obvious is this giant carbon fiber wing now the way this thing is mounted is actually into the structure of the vehicle and it makes you know loading the rear hatch a bit
more difficult but we're assuming that's okay if you're looking for the track performance this thing delivers also giving you that performance are these Michelin Pilot Sport cup tires which are basically track oriented tires that you can drive on the street but as we wake our way
to the front of the thing what really matters is what's under the hood that's right there's actually a hole in the hood of this thing and that's because this engine is so tall it's tall because it has a larger supercharger and a bunch of added cooling on it
to help it you know keep at the right temperature the supercharger is way larger than the one on the zo six and it has a
more cooling capacity and the downside is it's taller so it pops literally through the hood the cool thing is from the top you can actually see this shake when you're looking at it from you know a camera from the top of the vehicle this all makes for 755 horsepower making this the most powerful Corvette ever now what's important about that is this not just the power but likewise everything in the car has
to be built
to accommodate and be able
to drive
to the level of speed this thing can develop that's why you had the massive cooling so I had the aerodynamics and that's why I had the electronic sophistication inside [Applause] we had a lot of time
to take this car on the track yesterday and I've had the night
to think about things Matt today two crews on the road and see how this extreme performance machine deals with the sort of
more civil minded stuff of street driving the track impressions remain this thing is unquestionably one of the most capable cars you can get from a dealer these days a lot of that's besides the point now because we're on the street we have speed limits they have the ever - present threat of law enforcement around every corner so the question is what does this car feel like in public when you slow this car down it feels like a
more powerful Corvette you don't get much tram lining from these big wheels though we as the front end doesn't want
to follow grooves in the pavement it is louder it is a little firmer but it's certainly livable on a day
to day basis that's surprising for a vehicle of this capability normally these track oriented cars are so hardcore that you wouldn't want
to drive them
to the racetrack but let's face it you spend
more time driving
to the track than you do on the track and the fact that this thing works well in both disciplines is really impressive I can also dial everything back and cruise and not feel like I'm getting punished for driving a hardcore track machine that's a that's a really nice accomplishment that's something that you won't find in cars that are this fast and costs maybe double this much the engine in this car dominates the entire experience you can't miss the engine and the whole friend this car is sort of a shrine
to it the way it pops
out of the hood the way it's covered with coolers around the sides it is the experience of this car and that does make driving this thing special and also the fact that it doesn't look half bad either in fact I think it has some of the coolest looking wheels currently available on a new car this car as we mentioned this car has the track package the track package on this car gives you what they call competition bucket seats which are a little wide for my tastes but I'm you know not the widest
person in the world this automatic transmission works well I mean there's so much torque again
out of this engine that it can be very smooth and almost imperceptible its clunky on occasion I think I'd might opt for the manual although Chevy tells me about 80 % of its customers will go for the automatic I don't think they're gonna be disappointed and that's gonna be the faster transmission drag strip on the street - and on the racetrack man it was a little bit
more satisfying
to my taste though we've talked about the exhaust I have it set in the track setting let's quiet it down a little bit so you can hear the difference now I've set that separately from everything else so let's put it stealth what happened
to the engine sound that's pretty that's pretty amazing man stealth is really stealth and then go back
to track Wow actually a really big difference that's that's pretty great the Corvette has always been a strong value proposition and nowhere is that
more evident than this zr1 giving you a nearly unbeatable track performance per dollar now the nice thing is on the road this doesn't feel like a ragged edge track machine either you could genuinely drive it every day the compromises are few and that's what makes this car so special if you like what you see keep it tuned right here and be sure
to visit Edmunds.com [Music]