With its LT5 V8 engine, Chevrolet's 1990 ZR-1 C4 Corvette was state-of-the-art. Exotic highlights of the power plant included four overhead camshafts, four-valves per cylinder, an aluminum block, and a manufacturing process so specialized that an outside source was called in for production: Mercury Marine.  

Power was rated at 405 horsepower without the aid of a supercharger or turbo, and the engine was capable of a top speed in excess of 180 mph.