I wasn't supposed to sit behind the wheel of the Corvette ZR1 supercarsomething about fears that middle-aged guys like me might weep on the upholstery or refuse to leave the vehicle.

But the helpful rep from Chevrolet took pity on me. After checking to make sure no one resembling a supervisor was around, he opened the car's door. I slid inside.

I was at the Denver International Auto Show in the Colorado Convention Center, revolving on a dais in a car that boasts a 620-horsepower V8 engine and a speedometer that tops out at 220 mph. Only 2,000 will be made, selling for a rumored $100,000 a pop.

The rep pointed to the instrument panel. "That's the boost gauge for the superchargers," he said.

"So it's the warp-speed indicator?"
A 2009 Chevrolet Camaro Bumblebee on display at the Denver International Auto Show, Colorado Convention Center. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
I asked.

"Pretty much," he said.

I sat behind the wheel and wondered what it would feel like to rocket down Interstate 25 at 220 mph. Then I wondered what it would feel like to be pulled over by a state trooper, dragged out of the vehicle and clubbed senseless.

I got out of the car.

Words like "green," "clean" and "hybrid" are enjoying high mileage at this year's expo, where 38 automakers have 550 cars on display.

But it's obvious that passion remains for old-school speed, even if it's confined to limited- edition cars.

"Gearheads are performance people," said Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. "There's a movement for clean, green vehicles. Still, the good news for muscle-car enthusiasts is these cars are a lot easier on the environment than they were 20 years ago."

Consumers may be staring down the nozzle of $3.50-a- gallon gas, but I saw little outright enthusiasm for fuel sippers at the show, which runs through Sunday.

Yes, Ford is crowing about its Escape Hybrid, a sport utility vehicle billed as getting "34 lush, green miles per gallon, city."

But then you look at its 40th-anniversary editions of the Shelby GT500 and Bullitt Mustang, an updated homage to the car actor Steve McQueen drove — or more accurately, aimed — in "Bullitt."

The Ford GT gets 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway. It comes with a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax.

At the Chrysler display, the bullish new Dodge Challenger gleamed with innumerable coats of "Hemi Orange" paint. It sat right across from its forbearer from the 1970s, with its 440 Magnum engine and the same shade of paint.

These cars remain Detroit's pride, even as it navigates the new automotive order.

An auto-industry luncheon had just let out, and the floor was awash in car buffs. A guy walked up to the vintage Challenger and turned to a friend.

"Now this is a ride," he said. "It gets my heart racing. I'd take this over anything here."

His name was Scott Guvel, and he works for Chrysler.

I asked him the appeal of the muscle car and its continued presence in showrooms.

"It's just nostalgia," he said. "They're holding on to a tradition before it's gone."

While 2007 saw the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen hybrid SUVs, tradition seems like it's hanging on.

At the auto expo's entrance sat a stubby car resembling a lunchbox on wheels. It was the Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe, with three cylinders and a 50-mpg highway rating for the gasoline model.

Next to the muscle cars, it didn't look like much. But it did look like the future.