was designed and developed by Lotus, then a GM company and built by Mercury Marine.
On one trip to the UK I met with two Lotus engineers who told the story of having the ZR1 motor done on paper and when the Chevy guys saw the plans they went nuts! They were ballistic because the blocks bore centers were not the same as a 350. The Lotus guys argued that it did not matter, the engine would not be produced on GM equipment and therefore the bigger bore centers helped cooling. The Chevy guys insisted that the engine share bore center dimensions with the "production" 350 so that thet could claim "a family resemblance". So Lotus had to re-engineer the block to make marketing happy and reduced the cooling capacity of the motor!
One more "Dilbert" manager proving the tail wags the dog....
BTW, the Toyota 2000 was a really neat car. Good friend of mine who worked for Toyota had the chance to ride in one a few years back. He says that there are still one or two owned by Toyota US and that a couple of delaers have cars they kept.
Rick
