It represented the growing connection between the Corvette production vehicle and the C5. Functional air scoops were introduced to assist with brake cooling and to drive air into the throat of the engine.
The powerplant in the — Corvette was an LS7, the-then-new cubic-inch engine that was intentionally designed to operate like one of the big block engine from yesteryear. The Z06 now featured an engine that was capable of horsepower at 6, rpm, with an engine rev limit of 7, rpm. Similarly, the LS7 engine produced a total of lb. As with all other Z06 models save for the Z06 Corvette, which features an optional 8-speed automatic , the C6 Z06 version came equipped with a beefed-up six-speed manual transaxle.
In addition to the transmission, the Z06 also received an upgraded clutch, half-shafts, U-joints and limited-slip differential. Larger-than-stock, one-piece calipers were mated to these rotors. The front calipers featured a six-piston braking system while the rears included a four-piston system. However, the Z06 suspension did feature different, higher rate springs, special mono-tube dampers and larger sway bars that worked in conjunction with the larger tires and wheels.
Naturally, the sixth-generation Z06 came with a more-robust price-tag than the coupe or convertible models, but it also provided drivers an experience behind the wheel that was on-par with many of the premier sports cars from around the world.
R race car counterpart. At the heart of the Corvette Z06 was the new LT4 supercharged 6. This certified performance rating identified the Z06 Corvette as not only the most-powerful production car ever built by General Motors , but also one of the most powerful production cars available in the United States up to that point in time.
While the Z06 Corvette was a powerhouse that rivaled the C7. R Corvettes that were being developed as part of the racing program, Chevrolet also recognized the importance of building a platform that enabled drivers of all levels the capability of maximizing the performance they got out of their cars. First, we took what we learned on the Corvette Racing C6. Although it was the second straight Corvette racer without any rear visibility to speak of, it was the first to rectify the problem with an advanced camera system installed in the rear bumper.
That would continue to develop over the decade, ultimately becoming an intelligent car-tracking system that has become an industry standard on every GT car raced today. Some innovations, like a fuel-saving cylinder shutoff system inspired by Corvette road cars of the era, were dropped quickly and never re-visited. The original C6. The Aston Martins had the pace advantage at some tracks, but Corvettes were still able to win head-to-head in three of four races against them in their debut season, including that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The two met for a full American Le Mans Series season in , a legendary two-horse race that saw Corvette Racing grab the title in the final round of the season.
GT1-spec Corvettes also won Le Mans that year and in , but they ceded Le Mans to the Aston Martins in and after each team shifted focus back to their own respective continents.
Some of that success can be chalked up to Aston Martin's departure from the class, but the C6. It won 39 times, including a streak of 25 in a row in the U. Despite similar success in a much more competitive GT2 class immediately afterward, it is hard not be to romantic about the first C6.
It was the loudest and most exceptional GT car of its day, an earth-shaking beast that sounded like nothing else, on a track populated by memorable cars like the Audi R10, Porsche RS Spyder, and, later, Peugeot Gavin fondly remembers the GT1 car, and its high-stakes battles with the Aston Martins:. It was a special, special period. You could really see the respect from both camps, each side was operating at such a high level, the cars were amazing to watch out on track.
The downforce levels, the amount of mechanical grip they had, the noise that both cars were making. You could tell that they were really strong high-performance cars. How much power they had, how much grip they had, how much performance they had, it was all evident for anyone watching on track. When you beat them, you knew that you'd done a great job.
The memory that stands out the most to me was winning three years in a row; the third victory in was very special. It was a very hot year, a very hard year, with brutal conditions on track. It was really tough racing, super close.
I remember Jan [Magnussen] being in the car in the morning and passing the Aston Martin. We knew once we got in front we would not necessarily break their spirit, but have that psychological advantage.
It proved that way, and we went on to take that victory. To get three victories in a row with the same driver lineup of Jan Magnussen, Olivier Berretta and myself, similar crew chief and engineers throughout, and the same car number, No.
They developed a wholly new ZR1-branded C6. R in with a version of the LS7. R de-bored to 6. By Corvette Racing standards, it was a step down. Like the C6. R, the C6 Z06 benefited directly from a new development schedule that saw both in the plans for the new Corvette from day 1. It also shared most of a heart with the C6. R, the 7. While the road-going LS7 was not quite as brutish as the LS7.
R, it stands out as one of the most unique engines Chevrolet and General Motors ever let out of the factory. It is, uniquely, a cubic-inch small block, the first to pair that magical number of muscle cars of old with a grown-up, put-together engine that delivers that power responsibly and does not throw the base car's weight distribution off.
The horsepower number is pedestrian by today's standards, but the number is a point of balance between where Corvette had been before the C6 and where Corvette was headed afterward. While the engine is what stands out, everything about the C6 Z06 holds up today. Later Corvettes are faster, and earlier Corvettes are more analog, but this era of Corvettes is about finding Duntov's track-ready balance for the first time since the C2.
The C6 Z06 is the perfect point where the relentless pursuit of usable horsepower is in balance with equal demands for daily drivability and track readiness.
That car still feels like a moonshot , but its commitment to forced induction power overwhelms the balance the Z06 line is built to strive for. On the track, the Z06 is the easiest and most re-assuring of this group to drive—torquey, fast, forgiving and beautifully balanced, with great feedback through the steering. During his development of the ZR1, he discovered a significant improvement that was later offered directly by GM to owners of previously-built C7s.
He now spends his time privately offering that same development to owners of later-model C6s, but before that he was the engineer given the rare honor of running the Zequipped C6 Z06's Nurburgring lap.
For him, the C6 Z06 still stands out:. It was just over pounds, bigger tires, bigger brakes, it did everything right. Since then, we've added mass because we had to in order to create those larger power numbers. The lighter car practically drove itself around the Nurburgring. While the GT2-spec C6. R was not quite the dynastic power General Motors had come to expect, its replacement certainly was. The C7. R itself was largely a continuation of the work done for the GT2-spec C6.
R, adapting components like the de-bored 5. R to a new chassis based on a new generation of road car. Changes to the road car allowed the team to re-integrate direct injection technology from the GT1 era, however, allowing the team to greatly increase on-track efficiency. As evolutions throughout its lifetime modernized it with the rapidly-specializing GTLM field, it drifted further from the road car for the first time since GM brought the road and racing programs into close communication.
The resulting car was more specialized, more balanced, and more advanced than ever. As Oliver Gavin saw it:. R, you can see each time that they've been moving the motor lower down and further towards the driver. This front-mid engined layout we had, as we get it more centrally based within the car, was one thing that was evident in giving more performance.
The aluminum chassis, how stiff it was in the C7. Chevrolet prepares to bid adieu to the first-generation Corvette. A redesigned rear end debuts for and introduces the sports car's now famous quad-taillight design. Chevrolet shovels its new 5. Chevrolet releases an all-new Corvette for the model year. Affectionately known as the Sting Ray , the second-generation Corvette introduces to the model an independent rear suspension and a coupe body style.
The form-fitting body is once again made of fiberglass. A split-window design is unique to the first-year coupes. Chevy's V-8 carries over and can be mated to either an automatic transmission or a three- or four-speed manual gearbox. In our test of the then-new Corvette, we chide Chevrolet for offering anything but the four-speed manual in the car. The package adds a vacuum brake booster, a dual master cylinder, power drum brakes with sintered metallic brake linings, larger shock absorbers, and a bigger front anti-roll bar.
Limited to Corvettes equipped with the most powerful hp variant of the V-8 engine horses are standard and a four-speed manual transmission, RPO Z06 is applied to just Corvettes in Chevrolet responds to critics of the Corvette's drum brakes by equipping the car with standard four-wheel disc brakes for the model year.
The brake improvements are a timely upgrade, as Chevrolet also sees fit to plug its big-block V-8 engine under the Corvette's hood. The optional engine displaces 6. For , Chevrolet increases the engine's bore , subsequently upping displacement to 7.
The bigger big-block belts out a reported horsepower, with power shooting up to horses for A second V-8 is added to the Corvette lineup for as well. Dubbed L88, the top-of-the-line bent-eight produces horses on paper. The real number, however, is closer to horsepower. Just 20 buyers check the box for the beefy L88 engine.
After five model years, the C2 Corvette is replaced for by the C3. The coupe no longer offers a formal rear storage area. However, the body style now includes removable roof panels. Despite the new shape, the third-generation Corvette's underpinnings are nearly identical to its predecessor's.
Powertrains are largely carryover, although a new three-speed automatic transmission replaces the prior two-speed unit.
Chevrolet reinstates the Stingray name in now as one word and enlarges the stroke of the standard V-8, which brings displacement up to 5. A new V-8, also displacing 5. The engine produces horsepower—70 more than the base powerplant. Chevrolet also strokes the heavier big-block V-8 to 7. That cubic-inch engine makes horses and is dubbed LS5. Power begins to fall in , as octane requirements are reduced in preparation for the upcoming move to unleaded fuel.
A new hp big-block V-8 is introduced under the LS6 banner. We test four different powertrain variants of the sports car and find the entry-level hp model with a three-speed automatic scoots to 60 mph in a reasonable enough 7. Meanwhile, the top-dog LS6 requires just 5. To meet federal safety standards, the Corvette sports a new mug with a body-color urethane bumper cover. Its modifications too extensive to list, the Z06 could hit 60mph in less than four seconds, and top mph. And finally, we come to this - the Corvette Z Chevy says its 6.
Given the old Z06 could reach 60mph in 3. To keep all that power in check, it's got adaptive dampers, ceramic brakes, and countless other parts and systems designed to make the C7 Z06 the best Corvette yet.
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