Arguably the most hyped sports car of the year, the Corvette Z06 has been put through its paces at the Indy 500. With lead development engineer Aaron Link behind the driver’s wheel, the flat-plane crankshaft V8-engined thriller sings the song of its people at up to 8,600 rpm.
“This Z06 is so visceral,” said Byron Glover from Drive 615, “and just puts a huge smile on my face whenever I am in its presence.” Considering that amazing engine, who is willing to deny the sheer excitement factor of the first performance-oriented Corvette from the C8 generations? This car isn’t a full-fat Z07, but the more civilized Z06 with some Indy 500 whatnots.
Revealed last October as a 2023 model, the Z06 is packing the LT6, a.k.a. the first member of the Gemini small-block engine family. It’s not a bonafide small block, though, as it features dual overhead camshafts and the aforementioned flat-plane crank. But even though it’s a clean-sheet design, the bore spacing of 4.4 inches brings it close to the pushrod small block.
Manufactured from sand-cast aluminum, the 5.5-liter mill will be adapted with a couple of spinny lads in the ZR1 to create the LT7. Guesstimates for the twin-turbo variant are all over the place, so let’s turn out attention back to the LT6. The most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 in a series-production car makes 670 horsepower at 8,400 revolutions per minute and 460 pound-feet (624 Nm) of torque at 6,300 revolutions per minute. The largest flat-plane crankshaft V8 by displacement is based on the 5.5-liter engine of the C8.R endurance racing car that won two Constructors' Championships in the IMSA SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans class in 2020 and 2021.
Connected to a dual-clutch transmission that’s marginally different from the eight-speed transaxle of the Stingray, the powerplant in the Z06 doesn’t develop maximum torque in low gears during the first 500 miles (800 kilometers) of the break-in period. Lubricated with 8.0 quarts (7.6 liters) of 5W-50 fully synthetic oil from Mobil 1, this lump also needs 22.7 quarts (21.5 liters) of water/coolant mixture as per owner’s manual page 315.
Revealed last October as a 2023 model, the Z06 is packing the LT6, a.k.a. the first member of the Gemini small-block engine family. It’s not a bonafide small block, though, as it features dual overhead camshafts and the aforementioned flat-plane crank. But even though it’s a clean-sheet design, the bore spacing of 4.4 inches brings it close to the pushrod small block.
Manufactured from sand-cast aluminum, the 5.5-liter mill will be adapted with a couple of spinny lads in the ZR1 to create the LT7. Guesstimates for the twin-turbo variant are all over the place, so let’s turn out attention back to the LT6. The most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 in a series-production car makes 670 horsepower at 8,400 revolutions per minute and 460 pound-feet (624 Nm) of torque at 6,300 revolutions per minute. The largest flat-plane crankshaft V8 by displacement is based on the 5.5-liter engine of the C8.R endurance racing car that won two Constructors' Championships in the IMSA SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans class in 2020 and 2021.
Connected to a dual-clutch transmission that’s marginally different from the eight-speed transaxle of the Stingray, the powerplant in the Z06 doesn’t develop maximum torque in low gears during the first 500 miles (800 kilometers) of the break-in period. Lubricated with 8.0 quarts (7.6 liters) of 5W-50 fully synthetic oil from Mobil 1, this lump also needs 22.7 quarts (21.5 liters) of water/coolant mixture as per owner’s manual page 315.