Introduced for the 2020 model year, the mid-engine Stingray is a fine sports car. But for the 2023 model year, General Motors improved the C8 series with the Z06.
There are major differences between these variants of the long-running ‘Vette, beginning with the wider body and wider tires of the Z06. The dual-clutch transaxle may boast eight forward ratios in both midship sports cars, yet General Motors kindly asked Tremec to modify the TR-9080 DCT in quite a few areas to suit the sportier sib.
Pictured with the Z51 and Z07 performance packages, the ‘Vettes in the video below couldn’t be more different in the suck-squeeze-bang-blow department. A 6.2-liter small block hides under the hood of the Stingray, a V8 equipped with modern whatnots like direct injection and cylinder deactivation that enables four-cylinder mode.
If equipped with the NPP sports exhaust, which the blue-painted car has, it makes a respectable 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (637 Nm) of torque on full song. Tipping the scales at 3,649 pounds (1,655 kilograms), the Stingray boasts one horsepower for every 7.45 pounds (3.37 kilograms). The Z07-equipped Z06 betters it with one horsepower for every 5.49 pounds (2.49 kilograms) despite its 3,681-pound (1,670-kilogram) curb weight.
The secret sauce is – no surprises here – its high-revving engine. Although it features a 4.4-inch bore spacing like a small block, it’s anything but that. Gifted with a DOHC valvetrain and a flat-plane crankshaft, the LT6 is worlds apart from the LT2 that powers the Corvette Stingray.
A motorsport-derived engine that sounds like it’s been inspired by the naturally-aspirated V8s from the Prancing Horse of Maranello, the LT6 doesn’t have the peak torque of the LT2. But on the upside, its 460 pound-feet (624 Nm) of torque is joined by a stupendous 670 horsepower. It’s 20 more than the supercharged Z06 from the previous generation, and with the quicker-shifting transmission and better weight distribution, it’s pretty obvious which is the better car on the racetrack.
A much superior launch control system and carbon-fiber wheels pretty much seal the deal as far as the Z06 is concerned, the only C8-generation Corvette available with carbon-fiber wheels from the factory. Said wheels retail at a whopping $9,995 painted in Carbon Flash, whereas the visible carbon-fiber finish costs $11,995.
Everyone and their dog can guess which of these ‘Vettes is better in a straight line, but the u-drag format used by Edmunds in the video below is a little more complex. Both cars accelerate from a standstill, hit the quarter mile, accelerate a bit more, then brake hard and turn around for a rolling race back to the start/finish line.
How big of a difference is there between the Z06 Z07 and Stingray Z51 in this u-drag? For starters, two tenths of a second to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) separate the Z06 and Stingray. The quarter mile is dealt with in 10.7 and 11.4 seconds, respectively, and the sportier ‘Vette also rocks more Gs while cornering.
On that note, care to guess which car won the race?
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
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News