It packs a neck-snapping 638 horses. Tops out at over 200-mph. And will take you zero-to-60 in under 4 seconds. While still in first gear. It's the new Corvette ZR1, a street legal racer made up of a ton of fiberglass, a generous helping of carbon fiber, and a gigantic pair of balls.

I had a chance to take a few hot laps around the road course at Texas Motor Speedway with Jim Merrill, from Advanced Vehicle Dynamics - a guy who spends most of his days sitting behind the wheel of this beast, pushing its limits and laughing at guys like me and you who spend our days sitting behind a desk.

During the ride we hit 125-mph on the short quarter-mile-long straight - while still only in third gear - before diving down to about 70 and taking turns at over 2Gs. (Hence my shoddy camera work.) The clip of the ride is below. And after the jump there are some shots of the car I took before the ride. Love the window in the hood that shows off the power plant, and the carbon fiber splitter on the front end.




...There's more

We weren't allowed to drive it, but we were allowed to look at, touch, drool over, and sit in, it. The production version of the much-awaited, redesigned Chevy Camaro was with us at Texas Motor Speedway this week, and I was happy to see it stayed very true to the concept vehicle.

Looking like the classics of the late 60's, the new version has that familiar aggressive front fascia, wide rear fender flares with embossed "vents", and dual exhaust above the twin pairs of tail lights. The very cool, retro-styled interior mixes 1969 aggressiveness, with high-tech refinement. Check out the old-school gauges - complete with center console-mounted pressure and temp - set off against the modern sound system and steering wheel-mounted controls.

The rumor is the base model will feature a 300-hp, injected V6, that will get nearly 26-mpg. for about $23k. Tons of bang for the buck, that also won't make you curse your decision every time you pull up to the pump.

Here are a few pics I took at the event. Click to see the larger version.

All day on Tues, I'm in Dallas at the Texas Motor Speedway, test driving the new 09 GM vehicles.

I'll be posting video clips and pics of all the new cars, including some that are first drives, along with first looks at the production versions of the new Camaro and the much awaited Volt electric car. (Neither of which they are going to let me drive.)

I'll also be taking some hot laps in the 638-hp Corvette ZR1, so look for video of the ride.

I'll post as I can, depending on the connection, and if I want to get off the track long enough to fire up my laptop.

Whatever doesn't go up on Tues, will go on Wed, when I'm back home.

Stay tuned.

Just because they drive a shitbox, doesn't mean they want someone stealing that shitbox. Even a jacked up ride is better than taking the bus.

But how to keep thieving hands off without spending more than the $9.87 you you've got burning a hole in your pocket? Over at BannedInHollywood, they found 15 inspiring examples of ghettotastic ingenuity for keeping your wheels right where you parked them.

Four of my faves are pictured. Like the genius repurposing of the boat anchor. And the cardboard-hiding-the-wheels gambit to keep thieves from going after those $40 rims.

You can check out the other examples of anti-theft brilliance here.