Corvette (C7) [Official] Chevrolet Corvette (C7)
- Thread starter sako97
- Start date
The Chevrolet Corvette (C7) is the seventh generation of the Corvette sports car manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Chevrolet from 2014 until 2019. The first C7 Corvettes were delivered in the third quarter of 2013. The racing variants include the C7.R, which won the GTLM 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Or thermoplastic and carbon fiber?Z06 spotted in the metal
Not sure if this has been posted before. SAE's article on the C7's use of advanced materials in its construction. I didn't realize it uses carbon nano-composite floor pan at all.
SAE International -- mobility engineering
hoffmeister_fan
Kraftwagen König
Corvette Z06 cracks 3-second 0-60, 1.2 g on skidpad
Jeebus! This may be one of the biggest performance bargains out there.
Jeebus! This may be one of the biggest performance bargains out there.
Thiago
Schwarzwald Sprinter
2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Hits 60 MPH in 2.95 Seconds
GM has released its internal testing data for the new 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The impressive performance stats put the new supercharged Corvette Z06 in the rarified supercar realm.
When equipped with the new paddle shift eight-speed automatic, the new 650-hp Corvette Z06 with Z07 Performance Package (Brembo carbon ceramic brake rotors, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, and full aerodynamic package) hits 60 mph in 2.95 seconds and reaches the quarter-mile in 10.95 seconds, according to GM's tests. The Corvette Z06 with the Z07 pack and standard seven-speed manual transmission reaches 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and finishes the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds. GM claims the Corvette Z06 has a 127-mph trap speed regardless of transmission.
Info: Motor Trend
GM has released its internal testing data for the new 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The impressive performance stats put the new supercharged Corvette Z06 in the rarified supercar realm.
When equipped with the new paddle shift eight-speed automatic, the new 650-hp Corvette Z06 with Z07 Performance Package (Brembo carbon ceramic brake rotors, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, and full aerodynamic package) hits 60 mph in 2.95 seconds and reaches the quarter-mile in 10.95 seconds, according to GM's tests. The Corvette Z06 with the Z07 pack and standard seven-speed manual transmission reaches 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and finishes the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds. GM claims the Corvette Z06 has a 127-mph trap speed regardless of transmission.
Info: Motor Trend
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
2017 Chevrolet Corvette Zora ZR1
Since Zora Arkus Duntov joined the Corvette team and crammed a V-8 into America’s sports car in 1955, the Belgian-born engineer chased ever more interesting and dynamic ways of making the little two-door go faster than anything else on the road. Zora was obsessed with speed and performance. Aside from setting a production car record up Pikes Peak in a Corvette, taking a standing-mile record at Daytona and starting the Grand Sport racing program, Zora consistently worked on mid-engined prototypes of Corvettes during his career. Despite having a mid-engined prototype of some form for almost every generation of Corvette, there has never been a production car wearing the legendary Crossed Flags and carrying the engine behind the driver. That all looks to change soon with the rumored Corvette Zora ZR1.
This new car is rumored to use the Zora name to make it a separate model from the current Corvette family, and when it debuts it will be unveiled as an eighth-generation (C8) car. To create this new and exciting performance machine, Corvette engineers are expected to modify the current C7’s aluminum chassis for mid-ship duty, and then they should fit the car with an uprated version of the supercharged V-8 found in the newCorvette Z06. The new Zora ZR1 is expected to carry a price of more than $150k, horsepower ratings in excess of 700 ponies and a top speed well above 200 mph.
General Motors is no longer building a bargain performance monster. The new Zora will be a purebred supercar; full stop. Ferrari and Lamborghini, you have been put on notice.
The following is a collection of rumor and personal speculation on a potential upcoming model from General Motors. The images are renderings created by our artist.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Zora.
Exterior
The new Zora ZR1 is expected to be an evolution of the C7 design. Making a mid-engine car is dramatic enough to cause most Vette owners to stroke out, GM doesn’t need to push things with a radical design. To create our exclusive render, we have moved the cockpit forward just slightly and down. The nose features that same general pointed shape and tapered edges that are familiar to current owners, but more aggressive cooling ducts, a wider track and a large front splitter add tangible performance benefits. The nose does sit slightly lower allowing for greater forward visibility, but the drop in height is minimal to maintain greater suspension travel.
The profile shows a rear cut in the nose that is reminiscent of both the LaFerrari and Porsche 918. This should cause lower pressure in the nose and force air through the ducting more efficiently. Directly in front of the door is the signature sculpting found on current cars, complete with a Stingray logo elegantly integrated into the design. Expect a production version to feature a slightly higher roofline to meet various safety regulations.
The rear is both the most similar and most strikingly different angle of the new Zora. The same silhouette is used, along with very similar lighting elements, but a wider track, aggressively ducted fenders and rear bumper, massive rear diffuser and small dual spoilers over each rear fender immediately separate this visually from any standard Corvette. The Corvette’s trademark, center-mounted, quad exhaust has been updated to four individual units that look like chrome canons jutting from their integrated position in the rear bumper.
Interior
By separating form the Corvette in both performance, target market and price, the interior design team should have free reign to make things far more luxurious. Expect several yards of leather, carbon fiber and Alcantara to fill the cabin. High-end technology including multiple large LCD screens and LED lighting will give the cabin the same air of quality as anything the Germans and Italians can manage.
Seats are much improved for the new C7 Corvette, but expect the Zora to improve things further, and an aggressively styled squared, steering wheel like that found many Ferrari and Lamborhgin models would seem like an obvious addition as well.
Drivetrain
With 650 horsepower coming from its supercharged V-8, the current Z06 is already the most powerful production car General Motors has ever released. If the company wants its new supercar to carry the halo of the Chevrolet name, it will need to increase power even further. The Zora ZR1 will make use of the same engine as the Z06, but a host of tweaks and improvements should see horsepower ratings rise to around 740 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of twist. Any more power, and the Zora will run into traction issues.
The car should bow as a RWD model only, but there is talk of a potential hybrid model that uses electric motors in the nose to create an AWD setup similar to the Porsche 918. If this comes to fruition, the electric model likely won’t debut until the mid-cycle refresh.
The underpinnings of the Zora ZR1 will consist of a heavily modified version of the current Corvette platform. Considering Chevrolet was able to create a convertible version of the Z06 without adding additional bracing and strengthening, the bones should have no problem handling the stresses of a mid-engine small block with forced induction.
Transmission choices will very likely mimic the Z06 with a seven-speed manual or eight-speed automatic.
Performance targets for the Zora ZR1 should see the 0-to-60 sprint dispatched in 2.8 seconds or less with a top speed in the range of 215 to 220 mph.
Thanks to its small-block engine roots, I also would not be surprised to see a sticker that claimed 25 highway mpg from this new American supercar.
Price
General Motors may be giving the Corvette team free reign to build a world-beating supercar, but the value proposition of the Corvette brand will still remain. The rumored price target for the Zora is in the $150,000 range. This makes it significantly cheaper than almost all of the competition. The only mid-engined car that can be had for that type of cash is an Audi R8. The Lamborghini Huracán and Ferrari 458 Speciale carry prices nearly double that expected for the Zora.
A Future In Racing
With Ford rumored to be building a new GT for a potential return to Le Mans, Porsche’s new 919 LMP1 racer, and Ferrari ’s potential LaFerrai FXX model hitting endurance tracks soon, a Zora ZR1 can give General motors a platform to contest an overall win in the world’s most famous race: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Corvette racing team has already seen incredible success in the lower divisions of the endurance racing ladder, and General Motors may be looking to build on that momentum with this new Zora. Can you imagine seeing a modern Ford GT and a new Chevy Zora battling wheel to wheel down the Mulsanne straight?
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Zora ZR1 @ Top Speed
Since Zora Arkus Duntov joined the Corvette team and crammed a V-8 into America’s sports car in 1955, the Belgian-born engineer chased ever more interesting and dynamic ways of making the little two-door go faster than anything else on the road. Zora was obsessed with speed and performance. Aside from setting a production car record up Pikes Peak in a Corvette, taking a standing-mile record at Daytona and starting the Grand Sport racing program, Zora consistently worked on mid-engined prototypes of Corvettes during his career. Despite having a mid-engined prototype of some form for almost every generation of Corvette, there has never been a production car wearing the legendary Crossed Flags and carrying the engine behind the driver. That all looks to change soon with the rumored Corvette Zora ZR1.
This new car is rumored to use the Zora name to make it a separate model from the current Corvette family, and when it debuts it will be unveiled as an eighth-generation (C8) car. To create this new and exciting performance machine, Corvette engineers are expected to modify the current C7’s aluminum chassis for mid-ship duty, and then they should fit the car with an uprated version of the supercharged V-8 found in the newCorvette Z06. The new Zora ZR1 is expected to carry a price of more than $150k, horsepower ratings in excess of 700 ponies and a top speed well above 200 mph.
General Motors is no longer building a bargain performance monster. The new Zora will be a purebred supercar; full stop. Ferrari and Lamborghini, you have been put on notice.
The following is a collection of rumor and personal speculation on a potential upcoming model from General Motors. The images are renderings created by our artist.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Zora.
Exterior
The new Zora ZR1 is expected to be an evolution of the C7 design. Making a mid-engine car is dramatic enough to cause most Vette owners to stroke out, GM doesn’t need to push things with a radical design. To create our exclusive render, we have moved the cockpit forward just slightly and down. The nose features that same general pointed shape and tapered edges that are familiar to current owners, but more aggressive cooling ducts, a wider track and a large front splitter add tangible performance benefits. The nose does sit slightly lower allowing for greater forward visibility, but the drop in height is minimal to maintain greater suspension travel.
The profile shows a rear cut in the nose that is reminiscent of both the LaFerrari and Porsche 918. This should cause lower pressure in the nose and force air through the ducting more efficiently. Directly in front of the door is the signature sculpting found on current cars, complete with a Stingray logo elegantly integrated into the design. Expect a production version to feature a slightly higher roofline to meet various safety regulations.
The rear is both the most similar and most strikingly different angle of the new Zora. The same silhouette is used, along with very similar lighting elements, but a wider track, aggressively ducted fenders and rear bumper, massive rear diffuser and small dual spoilers over each rear fender immediately separate this visually from any standard Corvette. The Corvette’s trademark, center-mounted, quad exhaust has been updated to four individual units that look like chrome canons jutting from their integrated position in the rear bumper.
Interior
By separating form the Corvette in both performance, target market and price, the interior design team should have free reign to make things far more luxurious. Expect several yards of leather, carbon fiber and Alcantara to fill the cabin. High-end technology including multiple large LCD screens and LED lighting will give the cabin the same air of quality as anything the Germans and Italians can manage.
Seats are much improved for the new C7 Corvette, but expect the Zora to improve things further, and an aggressively styled squared, steering wheel like that found many Ferrari and Lamborhgin models would seem like an obvious addition as well.
Drivetrain
With 650 horsepower coming from its supercharged V-8, the current Z06 is already the most powerful production car General Motors has ever released. If the company wants its new supercar to carry the halo of the Chevrolet name, it will need to increase power even further. The Zora ZR1 will make use of the same engine as the Z06, but a host of tweaks and improvements should see horsepower ratings rise to around 740 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of twist. Any more power, and the Zora will run into traction issues.
The car should bow as a RWD model only, but there is talk of a potential hybrid model that uses electric motors in the nose to create an AWD setup similar to the Porsche 918. If this comes to fruition, the electric model likely won’t debut until the mid-cycle refresh.
The underpinnings of the Zora ZR1 will consist of a heavily modified version of the current Corvette platform. Considering Chevrolet was able to create a convertible version of the Z06 without adding additional bracing and strengthening, the bones should have no problem handling the stresses of a mid-engine small block with forced induction.
Transmission choices will very likely mimic the Z06 with a seven-speed manual or eight-speed automatic.
Performance targets for the Zora ZR1 should see the 0-to-60 sprint dispatched in 2.8 seconds or less with a top speed in the range of 215 to 220 mph.
Thanks to its small-block engine roots, I also would not be surprised to see a sticker that claimed 25 highway mpg from this new American supercar.
Price
General Motors may be giving the Corvette team free reign to build a world-beating supercar, but the value proposition of the Corvette brand will still remain. The rumored price target for the Zora is in the $150,000 range. This makes it significantly cheaper than almost all of the competition. The only mid-engined car that can be had for that type of cash is an Audi R8. The Lamborghini Huracán and Ferrari 458 Speciale carry prices nearly double that expected for the Zora.
A Future In Racing
With Ford rumored to be building a new GT for a potential return to Le Mans, Porsche’s new 919 LMP1 racer, and Ferrari ’s potential LaFerrai FXX model hitting endurance tracks soon, a Zora ZR1 can give General motors a platform to contest an overall win in the world’s most famous race: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Corvette racing team has already seen incredible success in the lower divisions of the endurance racing ladder, and General Motors may be looking to build on that momentum with this new Zora. Can you imagine seeing a modern Ford GT and a new Chevy Zora battling wheel to wheel down the Mulsanne straight?
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Zora ZR1 @ Top Speed
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Stingray? The new Z06 is a stun ray.
A few years ago, during the darkest hours of the GM bankruptcy, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter found himself on a conference call with company execs and government overseers. A conversation on the bolts and screws of bailing out GM suddenly halted when one of the federales, a Corvette fan, wanted to know the plan for the C7. “At the time, there was no plan,” recalled Juechter as we stood trackside at Road Atlanta this past October. “We were at full stop.”
So much has happened since then. Flash-forward to 2014 and the scene of our own technical director, Don Sherman, banging on the door of Juechter’s home like some marauding zombie early one summer Saturday, intent on hand-delivering our October issue, which featured an exposé on the C8 Corvette. (Juechter neither confirms nor denies our story.) And to our later meeting at Road Atlanta, where the new Z06 sat freshly unwrapped and awaiting its ritual molestation by car writers. Whatever satisfaction an engineer derives from his or her ideas becoming realized, from seeing mere talk and drawings evolve into a finished product, must increase tenfold in the Corvette program, once an idle afterthought in the mayhem of a bankruptcy and now a full line of highly acclaimed vehicles.
A line that includes a 650-hp thunder wagon with the sophistication and poise of the world’s best sports cars. There, we said it. The Z06 must be ranked among the world’s best. You know that we here at Car and Driver are not idle flatterers, our job being to find the faults for you in haste, before you have to live with them at leisure over 72 months of payments. However, the Z06 completely fulfills its mission to be a super Corvette. It is an accessible American fantasy intended to inject joy and fascination and, let’s face it, a healthy dose of awe into the driving experience, such that there’s not much left to shout about except details.
Details such as a 60-mph nuking of three seconds flat, set by a Z06 equipped with the Z07 Performance package and an automatic. This car tore the quarter-mile a new one at 11.1 seconds at 127 mph, scorched the skidpad with 1.19 g’s of grip, and stopped from 70 in an astonishing 128 feet, the latter two figures setting C/D records for a production car. We also tested a slightly less potent manual-trans Z06 [see bottom of page 2].
Please pause here for an important message about tires. If you’ve followed our preview coverage, you already know that there are now a lot of Z06s to choose from. There are coupe and convertible body styles. There are two transmissions, a seven-speed manual with automatic rev matching and an eight-speed automatic. And there are three trim levels, dozens of options, and three separate aero packages. Then there’s the mega Z07 Performance package that further weaponizes the car with carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon-fiber aero package, a slightly revised suspension tune, and different tires. The Z07’s run-flat Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer almost-slicks replace the base run-flat Michelin Pilot Super Sports and are, to borrow from Mark Twain, the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.
Back to the test numbers: Um, holy crap. Riding a Z06 through the first four gears feels like putting a saddle on Superman, though the Z06 is 200 pounds heavier than the old ZR1. Obviously, there’s a squidge more power, but this is down to the race tires and the fact that today’s automatics are often faster than manuals in a straight line. We didn’t even use launch control, a simple flat-foot drop in full auto mode being all that was needed to produce these fireworks from the test equipment.
The Z06 we photographed was fully loaded with the Z07 package, Stage 3 carbon aero trim kit, and optional carbon-kablooey interior.As you can see, there’s a Z06 for, well, if not exactly everyone, then a wider swath of humanity’s more impatient drivers, all of whom will be swamped by admirers at parties. Prepare for the eager smiles of your audience to droop slightly when you say you bought the automatic, as up to 70 percent of Z06 buyers are expected to do. This is a natural, instinctual disappointment, conditioned by the expectation that real sports cars have sticks, mounting evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.
We drove both the manual and the automatic Z06 and feel that the stick, with its notably soft and seamless clutch takeup, is still the best choice. Rev matching sounds like a hateful automation of the heel-and-toe skill until you get used to it. Then you wonder why all manuals don’t have it. Or just turn it off. Or use it to learn proper rev matching and then turn it off.
The automatic gets its robot chores done efficiently, but it’s the one area where we found the Z06 falls a little short of its billing. GM claims that the automatic does the work of the manual by quickly intuiting your intentions and behaving like a racer, taking data from the throttle, steering, and yaw sensors to determine whether a gearchange is possible or likely to unsettle the car. It does that fairly well, but when you’re really playing racer boy, the auto can get caught in the wrong gear, especially if you like left-foot braking and easing off the binders while simultaneously squeezing on the power. That sends ones and zeros up the transmission’s snoot that it doesn’t like.
Chevy’s choice of wild, bucking Road Atlanta as a launch venue proved both wise and a bit brave. This fast but highly technical track let the Z06 stretch its legs all the way up to 150-plus mph on the back straight, while also taxing its suspension and grip over crests and curbs. The Z06 immediately showed itself to be a Corvette Plus: plus more speed, more grip, more hunkered-down stability at triple digits, more noise, and a lot more stopping power.
When it’s not producing circa-30 mpg in cylinder-deactivation (eco) mode, the direct-injected LT4 is a typhoon of noise and power. Muffler flaps that bang open under hard acceleration (or stay open in track mode) release the crackling furies as you make the jump to hyperspace. Shifts are accompanied by a buzz-bang from stuttered spark and loose fuel. You do have to be competent before you’re attacking turns with anywhere near the Z06’s peak grip, especially on the gluey Cup 2s. The car’s eagerness to change direction stands in confounding contrast to its 106.7-inch school-bus wheelbase, more than 10 inches longer than a 911’s. No doubt our Z06 was set to the “track alignment” mentioned in the owner’s manual, which suggests an extra degree of negative front and rear wheel camber. Juechter said Chevy tries to set its press cars up with the track alignment when it knows they are headed to a circuit, as this Z06 was.
It’s precisely the Corvette’s long inseam that gives it stability over curbs and pavement pitches that would upset a shorter car. That and shock-tuning sophistication (engineers were fussing with the magnetic-shock maps right up until our drive, deciding to relax them slightly in track mode) let the chassis digest the worst the road can deliver. The Z06 eats track curbs and moves on. Stability. That’s the word on your quavering lips when you emerge after the first session.
But the newest Vette is a complicated toy that will take many, many hours of play to fully reveal itself. The traction- and stability-control modes affect many parameters now, including throttle aggression, the electronic limited-slip differential engagement, the magnetic shocks, and the automatic’s shift speed. You can push buttons and twist knobs in the pits for quite a while before you’ve explored all the combinations. The important take-away is this: You, Bo-Bob Racer, can pound the snot out of the Z06 with your manly lapping technique, then reconfigure the car for your rookie squire with absolutely no fear of him being in any danger—as long as no one fools with the buttons. MG’s motto used to be “Safety Fast.” It applies much better to the Z06.
Afterward, if you’ve optioned the Performance Data Recorder that comes with the navigation system, you and your team can watch the video replay of your exploits, complete with speed, rpm, g’s, track position (thanks to integrated GPS data), and lap times. The Z06 isn’t merely swift; it’s designed specifically to make you a better driver through the stair-step configurability of its controls and its onboard learning tools.
The Z06 does not transcend its roots; it’s still a Stingray, meaning wide, batwinged, loud, and full of numerous types of plastic. But once you’ve peeled back its many layers, the performance is that of a true supercar and yet another step forward for the American Dream Machine.
THE Z06 THAT RAN LIKE A Z05.5
We tested both the automatic and manual Z06, the latter returning numbers lower than expected. The base seven-speed coupe, 3559 pounds, did a 60-mph strafe of 3.4 seconds, a quarter-mile clobbering in 11.5 seconds at 126 mph, skidpad laps averaging 1.12 g’s, and a stop from 70 in 139 feet. However, our tester grumped that the car should have been quicker, especially since its computer threw a code during testing and may have been cutting power. Even if it was, the car still posted numbers comparable to the old ZR1. Retesting before deadline wasn’t possible, so we teed up our next subject, a Z07 automatic coupe, which logged the performance shown in our charts.
SPECIFICATIONS
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door targa
PRICE AS TESTED: $97,595 (base price: $78,995)
ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 376 cu in, 6162 cc
Power: 650 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 650 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Length: 176.9 in
Width: 77.1 in Height: 48.6 in
Curb weight: 3558 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.8 sec
Zero to 160 mph: 22.9 sec
Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 3.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 1.7 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 2.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 127 mph
Top speed (C/D est): 185 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 128 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.19 g
FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 13/24 mpg
View attachment 85b41ccb2e8efbbbaedab96a64b87936.jpgTEST NOTES: Launch control keeps cold-tire wheelspin to a minimum, but once the rubber is warm, the rears have the stick to take an aggressive stab of the throttle without any electronic assistance. Oddly, the trans upshifts short of redline in automatic, but this is quicker than shifting manually at redline.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-chevrolet-corvette-z06-full-test-review
Stingray? The new Z06 is a stun ray.
A few years ago, during the darkest hours of the GM bankruptcy, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter found himself on a conference call with company execs and government overseers. A conversation on the bolts and screws of bailing out GM suddenly halted when one of the federales, a Corvette fan, wanted to know the plan for the C7. “At the time, there was no plan,” recalled Juechter as we stood trackside at Road Atlanta this past October. “We were at full stop.”
So much has happened since then. Flash-forward to 2014 and the scene of our own technical director, Don Sherman, banging on the door of Juechter’s home like some marauding zombie early one summer Saturday, intent on hand-delivering our October issue, which featured an exposé on the C8 Corvette. (Juechter neither confirms nor denies our story.) And to our later meeting at Road Atlanta, where the new Z06 sat freshly unwrapped and awaiting its ritual molestation by car writers. Whatever satisfaction an engineer derives from his or her ideas becoming realized, from seeing mere talk and drawings evolve into a finished product, must increase tenfold in the Corvette program, once an idle afterthought in the mayhem of a bankruptcy and now a full line of highly acclaimed vehicles.
A line that includes a 650-hp thunder wagon with the sophistication and poise of the world’s best sports cars. There, we said it. The Z06 must be ranked among the world’s best. You know that we here at Car and Driver are not idle flatterers, our job being to find the faults for you in haste, before you have to live with them at leisure over 72 months of payments. However, the Z06 completely fulfills its mission to be a super Corvette. It is an accessible American fantasy intended to inject joy and fascination and, let’s face it, a healthy dose of awe into the driving experience, such that there’s not much left to shout about except details.
Details such as a 60-mph nuking of three seconds flat, set by a Z06 equipped with the Z07 Performance package and an automatic. This car tore the quarter-mile a new one at 11.1 seconds at 127 mph, scorched the skidpad with 1.19 g’s of grip, and stopped from 70 in an astonishing 128 feet, the latter two figures setting C/D records for a production car. We also tested a slightly less potent manual-trans Z06 [see bottom of page 2].
Please pause here for an important message about tires. If you’ve followed our preview coverage, you already know that there are now a lot of Z06s to choose from. There are coupe and convertible body styles. There are two transmissions, a seven-speed manual with automatic rev matching and an eight-speed automatic. And there are three trim levels, dozens of options, and three separate aero packages. Then there’s the mega Z07 Performance package that further weaponizes the car with carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon-fiber aero package, a slightly revised suspension tune, and different tires. The Z07’s run-flat Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer almost-slicks replace the base run-flat Michelin Pilot Super Sports and are, to borrow from Mark Twain, the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.
Back to the test numbers: Um, holy crap. Riding a Z06 through the first four gears feels like putting a saddle on Superman, though the Z06 is 200 pounds heavier than the old ZR1. Obviously, there’s a squidge more power, but this is down to the race tires and the fact that today’s automatics are often faster than manuals in a straight line. We didn’t even use launch control, a simple flat-foot drop in full auto mode being all that was needed to produce these fireworks from the test equipment.
The Z06 we photographed was fully loaded with the Z07 package, Stage 3 carbon aero trim kit, and optional carbon-kablooey interior.As you can see, there’s a Z06 for, well, if not exactly everyone, then a wider swath of humanity’s more impatient drivers, all of whom will be swamped by admirers at parties. Prepare for the eager smiles of your audience to droop slightly when you say you bought the automatic, as up to 70 percent of Z06 buyers are expected to do. This is a natural, instinctual disappointment, conditioned by the expectation that real sports cars have sticks, mounting evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.
We drove both the manual and the automatic Z06 and feel that the stick, with its notably soft and seamless clutch takeup, is still the best choice. Rev matching sounds like a hateful automation of the heel-and-toe skill until you get used to it. Then you wonder why all manuals don’t have it. Or just turn it off. Or use it to learn proper rev matching and then turn it off.
The automatic gets its robot chores done efficiently, but it’s the one area where we found the Z06 falls a little short of its billing. GM claims that the automatic does the work of the manual by quickly intuiting your intentions and behaving like a racer, taking data from the throttle, steering, and yaw sensors to determine whether a gearchange is possible or likely to unsettle the car. It does that fairly well, but when you’re really playing racer boy, the auto can get caught in the wrong gear, especially if you like left-foot braking and easing off the binders while simultaneously squeezing on the power. That sends ones and zeros up the transmission’s snoot that it doesn’t like.
Chevy’s choice of wild, bucking Road Atlanta as a launch venue proved both wise and a bit brave. This fast but highly technical track let the Z06 stretch its legs all the way up to 150-plus mph on the back straight, while also taxing its suspension and grip over crests and curbs. The Z06 immediately showed itself to be a Corvette Plus: plus more speed, more grip, more hunkered-down stability at triple digits, more noise, and a lot more stopping power.
When it’s not producing circa-30 mpg in cylinder-deactivation (eco) mode, the direct-injected LT4 is a typhoon of noise and power. Muffler flaps that bang open under hard acceleration (or stay open in track mode) release the crackling furies as you make the jump to hyperspace. Shifts are accompanied by a buzz-bang from stuttered spark and loose fuel. You do have to be competent before you’re attacking turns with anywhere near the Z06’s peak grip, especially on the gluey Cup 2s. The car’s eagerness to change direction stands in confounding contrast to its 106.7-inch school-bus wheelbase, more than 10 inches longer than a 911’s. No doubt our Z06 was set to the “track alignment” mentioned in the owner’s manual, which suggests an extra degree of negative front and rear wheel camber. Juechter said Chevy tries to set its press cars up with the track alignment when it knows they are headed to a circuit, as this Z06 was.
It’s precisely the Corvette’s long inseam that gives it stability over curbs and pavement pitches that would upset a shorter car. That and shock-tuning sophistication (engineers were fussing with the magnetic-shock maps right up until our drive, deciding to relax them slightly in track mode) let the chassis digest the worst the road can deliver. The Z06 eats track curbs and moves on. Stability. That’s the word on your quavering lips when you emerge after the first session.
But the newest Vette is a complicated toy that will take many, many hours of play to fully reveal itself. The traction- and stability-control modes affect many parameters now, including throttle aggression, the electronic limited-slip differential engagement, the magnetic shocks, and the automatic’s shift speed. You can push buttons and twist knobs in the pits for quite a while before you’ve explored all the combinations. The important take-away is this: You, Bo-Bob Racer, can pound the snot out of the Z06 with your manly lapping technique, then reconfigure the car for your rookie squire with absolutely no fear of him being in any danger—as long as no one fools with the buttons. MG’s motto used to be “Safety Fast.” It applies much better to the Z06.
Afterward, if you’ve optioned the Performance Data Recorder that comes with the navigation system, you and your team can watch the video replay of your exploits, complete with speed, rpm, g’s, track position (thanks to integrated GPS data), and lap times. The Z06 isn’t merely swift; it’s designed specifically to make you a better driver through the stair-step configurability of its controls and its onboard learning tools.
The Z06 does not transcend its roots; it’s still a Stingray, meaning wide, batwinged, loud, and full of numerous types of plastic. But once you’ve peeled back its many layers, the performance is that of a true supercar and yet another step forward for the American Dream Machine.
THE Z06 THAT RAN LIKE A Z05.5
We tested both the automatic and manual Z06, the latter returning numbers lower than expected. The base seven-speed coupe, 3559 pounds, did a 60-mph strafe of 3.4 seconds, a quarter-mile clobbering in 11.5 seconds at 126 mph, skidpad laps averaging 1.12 g’s, and a stop from 70 in 139 feet. However, our tester grumped that the car should have been quicker, especially since its computer threw a code during testing and may have been cutting power. Even if it was, the car still posted numbers comparable to the old ZR1. Retesting before deadline wasn’t possible, so we teed up our next subject, a Z07 automatic coupe, which logged the performance shown in our charts.
SPECIFICATIONS
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door targa
PRICE AS TESTED: $97,595 (base price: $78,995)
ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 376 cu in, 6162 cc
Power: 650 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 650 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Length: 176.9 in
Width: 77.1 in Height: 48.6 in
Curb weight: 3558 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.8 sec
Zero to 160 mph: 22.9 sec
Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 3.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 1.7 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 2.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 127 mph
Top speed (C/D est): 185 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 128 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.19 g
FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 13/24 mpg
View attachment 85b41ccb2e8efbbbaedab96a64b87936.jpgTEST NOTES: Launch control keeps cold-tire wheelspin to a minimum, but once the rubber is warm, the rears have the stick to take an aggressive stab of the throttle without any electronic assistance. Oddly, the trans upshifts short of redline in automatic, but this is quicker than shifting manually at redline.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-chevrolet-corvette-z06-full-test-review
hoffmeister_fan
Kraftwagen König
jeebus....
Sticky wet pants again?
hoffmeister_fan
Kraftwagen König
wow, this is...this is awkward.....*sheepishly* yeah.
This is just crazy: Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.19 g. And, like your namesake, it sounds like an absolute monster.
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
First drive: new Corvette Z06
"It’s not a bit better than the old one, it’s in a different class altogether..." Pat Devereux reports
What's this?
This is the Z06 version of the new C7 Corvette Stingray, which was Top Gear's Not the Muscle Car of the Year 2014. If that info doesn't immediately tell you that you are in the near presence of greatness, here is your one sentence primer. Z06 is an internal code used by Chevy to denote a ‘Vette that has been substantially upgraded in every way to make it perform better than the standard car. In previous generations of Vette, it has meant a substantial power upgrade, better brakes, tyres... that kind of thing. It's always been a useful upgrade.
For this generation, though, GM has gone completely, stark-staring mad.
Mad good or mad bad?
Good. Very good. Instead of just making a breathed on version of the C7 - the normal route for the Z06 - Chevy's engineers have used the previously range-topping supercharged ZR1 as the benchmark for this new car. So it's not a bit better than the old one, it's in a different class altogether.
Let's start with the engine. It shares its block with the LT1 lump but everything else above that in this 6.2-litre LT4 engine is new. And that includes a supercharger which is now a little smaller but spins 25 per cent faster than the ZR1's, to improve throttle response. Max power is 650bhp and max torque is rated at 650lb ft. That's roughly 200bhp and 200lb ft more than the standard C7.
What about the chassis?
Plenty to love here, too. To get the power down, the Z06 is fitted with much wider and stickier Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres rolling on lighter weight 19-inch (front) and 20-inch (rear) wheels . This has pushed the bodywork at the front and rear 56mm and 80mm wider respectively. So it looks impossibly low and mean now. What adds to this effect is the standard aero equipment, which includes a front splitter, a larger vent in the bonnet and the rear spoiler borrowed from the Z51's Performance Package. Brakes are the de rigeur Brembo steel saucepan lids.
Any options I should know about?
Yes. The Z06 is available with three different levels of aero. This standard set up (stage 1), this plus an optional aero package (stage 2), which uses carbon for all the aero bits including a larger rear spoiler and front winglets. And then there's the full-house Z07 package, which adds bigger winglets and an adjustable clear centre section for the rear spoiler. On top of this, the Z07 package also includes bigger carbon ceramic brakes and almost tread-free Sport Cup 2 tyres.
What's it like to drive?
In the same way the standard C7 immediately feels a world better than the C6, the Z06 feels a similarly and instantly vast improvement over the standard car. The speeds you can achieve on the track are scarcely believable. On Road Atlanta's back straight there is a right-handed blind kink. In the standard C7 you can, if you swallow hard enough, take this at around 140mph. In the Z06, you can hit it at 155mph and still have plenty of time to brake before the chicane.
So you can really feel the aero?
On the base Z06 you can a bit, but when you step up to the Z07 it feels like a proper race car. You have to go through the learning process for a couple of laps, but once you've tried it once and felt the car sucker into the track, you can go utterly beserk.
Is it better than a Porsche, Ferrari or McLaren?
Think it's fair to say it's going to crush anything less than a 918, P1 or LaFerrari. Its combination of relentless power, unshakeable chassis - with all its clever technology that works with you - and vast brakes is unbeatable at the moment. And that's just on the track. On the road, it's just as much fun. Dial back the chassis, flip off the roof panel - a first for all Z06s - and it'll cruise along in comfort. It's available with an eight-speed automatic or the seven-speed manual, now with uprated rev matching (this is being implemented across the whole Corvette range) that now makes it properly seamless.
Should I buy one?
Considering it starts at just $78,000 and rises to just over $100k for the Z07 with every box ticked, this is the performance car bargain of 2015. Which is why it's already sold out. If you can get your name on the list for 2016, we suggest you do it now. Thrills don't come any better - or for better value.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/corvette-z06-c7-first-drive-2014-11-25
"It’s not a bit better than the old one, it’s in a different class altogether..." Pat Devereux reports
What's this?
This is the Z06 version of the new C7 Corvette Stingray, which was Top Gear's Not the Muscle Car of the Year 2014. If that info doesn't immediately tell you that you are in the near presence of greatness, here is your one sentence primer. Z06 is an internal code used by Chevy to denote a ‘Vette that has been substantially upgraded in every way to make it perform better than the standard car. In previous generations of Vette, it has meant a substantial power upgrade, better brakes, tyres... that kind of thing. It's always been a useful upgrade.
For this generation, though, GM has gone completely, stark-staring mad.
Mad good or mad bad?
Good. Very good. Instead of just making a breathed on version of the C7 - the normal route for the Z06 - Chevy's engineers have used the previously range-topping supercharged ZR1 as the benchmark for this new car. So it's not a bit better than the old one, it's in a different class altogether.
Let's start with the engine. It shares its block with the LT1 lump but everything else above that in this 6.2-litre LT4 engine is new. And that includes a supercharger which is now a little smaller but spins 25 per cent faster than the ZR1's, to improve throttle response. Max power is 650bhp and max torque is rated at 650lb ft. That's roughly 200bhp and 200lb ft more than the standard C7.
What about the chassis?
Plenty to love here, too. To get the power down, the Z06 is fitted with much wider and stickier Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres rolling on lighter weight 19-inch (front) and 20-inch (rear) wheels . This has pushed the bodywork at the front and rear 56mm and 80mm wider respectively. So it looks impossibly low and mean now. What adds to this effect is the standard aero equipment, which includes a front splitter, a larger vent in the bonnet and the rear spoiler borrowed from the Z51's Performance Package. Brakes are the de rigeur Brembo steel saucepan lids.
Any options I should know about?
Yes. The Z06 is available with three different levels of aero. This standard set up (stage 1), this plus an optional aero package (stage 2), which uses carbon for all the aero bits including a larger rear spoiler and front winglets. And then there's the full-house Z07 package, which adds bigger winglets and an adjustable clear centre section for the rear spoiler. On top of this, the Z07 package also includes bigger carbon ceramic brakes and almost tread-free Sport Cup 2 tyres.
What's it like to drive?
In the same way the standard C7 immediately feels a world better than the C6, the Z06 feels a similarly and instantly vast improvement over the standard car. The speeds you can achieve on the track are scarcely believable. On Road Atlanta's back straight there is a right-handed blind kink. In the standard C7 you can, if you swallow hard enough, take this at around 140mph. In the Z06, you can hit it at 155mph and still have plenty of time to brake before the chicane.
So you can really feel the aero?
On the base Z06 you can a bit, but when you step up to the Z07 it feels like a proper race car. You have to go through the learning process for a couple of laps, but once you've tried it once and felt the car sucker into the track, you can go utterly beserk.
Is it better than a Porsche, Ferrari or McLaren?
Think it's fair to say it's going to crush anything less than a 918, P1 or LaFerrari. Its combination of relentless power, unshakeable chassis - with all its clever technology that works with you - and vast brakes is unbeatable at the moment. And that's just on the track. On the road, it's just as much fun. Dial back the chassis, flip off the roof panel - a first for all Z06s - and it'll cruise along in comfort. It's available with an eight-speed automatic or the seven-speed manual, now with uprated rev matching (this is being implemented across the whole Corvette range) that now makes it properly seamless.
Should I buy one?
Considering it starts at just $78,000 and rises to just over $100k for the Z07 with every box ticked, this is the performance car bargain of 2015. Which is why it's already sold out. If you can get your name on the list for 2016, we suggest you do it now. Thrills don't come any better - or for better value.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/corvette-z06-c7-first-drive-2014-11-25
Sunny
Premium
Absolutely stunning in black.
Tail lights still questionable, but black masks a lot of the other tacky bits.
Credit - http://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/846890-gt3-and-z06.html#post11848058
Tail lights still questionable, but black masks a lot of the other tacky bits.
Credit - http://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/846890-gt3-and-z06.html#post11848058
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