The new C7 Stingray Corvette is an impressive sports car. Yet, engineers at General Motors managed to improve it, with the C7-based Corvette Z06 supercar to show for their efforts. We can confirm the impressive results after a much-anticipated recent stint behind the wheel of the Z06.
While it’s more track-focused than the standard Stingray model—boasting more performance capability from nearly every metric—GM also sought to make the Z06 more accessible than top-tier Corvette models of years past. Accordingly, the new Z06 can be had with an 8-speed automatic gearbox, as well as a convertible roof. But we’ll take our Z06 in coupe form with the seven-speed manual transmission, thank you very much.
The heart of the Z06 is an all-new 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8, outputting 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. While weight has gone up some 350 pounds from the previous generation Z06, output has been increased by nearly 150 horsepower—giving this 3,500-pound coupe a power-to-weight ratio that makes it a force to be reckoned with.
Unlike the previous generation Z06, the new one is supercharged rather than naturally aspirated. While it adds a bit of weight to the front end, it also adds a healthy dollop of additional power with a minimal hit to fuel economy.
Along with uprated brakes and suspension versus the standard Corvette, the Z06 comes with a host of aerodynamic upgrades that, in concert, serve to provide the new Z06 with an even more aggressive persona while also keeping it firmly planted to the ground at high speeds.
It’s a comprehensive package to be sure, and in terms of the classic American sports car formula—big V8 upfront, power sent to the rear, three pedals on the floor, and a low and long body to house it all—the new Z06 is world class. It carves through corners like a finely tuned chainsaw, stops as though it was attached to the anchors on a battleship, and accelerates like few other cars can. Zero-to-60 mph happens in three seconds dead.
Hopping behind the wheel of the most potent Corvette on sale today, there’s an array of stimulus vying for attention, but perhaps none is as alluring as the variable mode exhaust system. In the Touring (i.e. comfort) driving mode, the Z06 can be as tame and low profile as any other car on the road, from an auditory standpoint, anyway. But twist that knob on the center console to Sport or Track modes—which not only affects stability and traction control (as well as shift schedules on the automatic-equipped cars)—and that exhaust system is uncorked.
Suddenly you’re at the helm of a car that sounds like it’s ready to exit the pits at the Circuit de la Sarthe. It’s intoxicating.
The interior of the C7, in both Stingray and Z06 form, is leagues ahead of previous generation Corvettes, and sports some of the latest connected features available, like 4G LTE hotspot capability and Apple CarPlay.
On the road, it doesn’t disappoint either. But it’s worth noting that with this much power on tap, second gear tops out at about 90 mph, meaning there isn’t a ton of shifting to be done when navigating a fast, winding road—a task which the Z06 does with absolute aplomb.
In fact, the majority of the performance offered above and beyond a standard Stingray with the Z51 performance package isn’t really accessible anywhere but on a race track, not just because of the law, but because you’re unlikely to find enough open road to actually let this bad boy stretch its legs properly outside of a purpose-built road course. Then again, sometimes it’s nice to know you’re the top dog in town—even if there’s nowhere to prove it.
See Chevrolet Corvette 2015 Coupe Cars & Trucks for sale on eBay.
