Discontinued last year to make room for the Mach 1, the fabulous-sounding Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 tops 8,250 revolutions per minute from 5.2 liters and a flat-plane crankshaft. The Voodoo, however, cannot match the 8,600-rpm engine of the 2023 model year Corvette Z06.
Endorsed by basketball superstar Devin Booker and SAG-AFTRA actress Emelia Hartford, the brand-new sports car is the star of the featured teaser video that previews a 30-minute reveal film. “Putting the World on Notice” is how the reveal clip is called, which is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that GM has developed a flat-plane crank V8 mill for a production vehicle.
The attached video further confirms the four-tipped central exhaust we’ve seen on test mules, wider front and rear fenders, a new design for the wheels, a new design for the rear wing, as well as the Z06 in convertible form. There’s even footage of the interior, complete with Bose audio branding, the so-called “Great Wall of Buttons,” and the slightly squared-off steering wheel.
Based on spy photos and reports, the Z06 will adopt a familiar dual-clutch transmission with small twists. On the one hand, there’s photographic evidence of a magnesium case. Secondly, the Tremec-supplied gearbox handles up to 7,500 revolutions per minute in the small-blocked Stingray.
Based on the LT5.5 engine of the C8.R endurance racer, the LT6 in the Z06 is expected to displace 5.5 liters and produce more than 600 horsepower. Torque is anyone’s guess as well, but nevertheless, you can expect more than Ford’s rating for the Voodoo. As a brief refresher, the 5.2-liter motor in the Shelby GT350 develops 429 pound-feet (or 583 Nm) at 4,750 rpm.
Just like the hybrid ‘Vette that's expected to bear the E-Ray moniker, the Z06 is rounded off by a set of massive go-faster tires. More specifically, the largest steamrollers photographed on prototypes measure 275/30 by 20 inches up front and 345/25 by 21 inches out back. The most aggressive compound and tread come from Michelin in the guise of the Pilot Sport Cup 2 R, a DOT-legal performance tire with an asymmetric pattern and few lateral notches.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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