Remember those Z06 prototypes with corner-tipped exhausts? It was previously believed that GM benchmarked this design against the center-tipped exhaust to find out which sounds better, but that’s not correct.
After pressing several members of the Corvette engineering team at the National Corvette Museum Bash, the peeps at Corvette Blogger are much obliged to report that corner-mounted tips are exclusive to export cars.
The reason General Motors relocated the tips is rather simple. Ever heard of gasoline particulate filters? They’re pretty much the same thing as diesel particulate filters but only got popular a few years ago due to harsher emission regulations. The tighter packaging of the center-mounted tips doesn’t allow GPFs to be installed, hence the corner-tipped design.
To whom it may concern, the Stingray also rocks gasoline particulte filters in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Equipped as standard with the Z51 Performance Package, the Stingray for Europe and the UK outputs 475 horsepower and 452 pound-feet (613 Nm) from its LT2 small block.
Over in the United States of America, the 6.2-liter engine develops 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet (631 Nm) as standard. The NPP exhaust system of the performance pack adds 5 extra ponies and pound-feet.
As opposed to the cross-plane V8 of the Stingray, the LT6 in the Z06 is a flat-plane V8 with a DOHC valvetrain. The naturally-aspirated lump is much obliged to rev to 8,600 rpm, deliver 670 horsepower at 8,400 rpm, and belt out 460 pound-feet (623 Nm) at 6,300 rpm as per SAE J1349 testing.
Derived from the 5.5-liter engine of the C8.R endurance racer, the LT6 is connected to a dual-clutch transmission like the one in the Stingray. And Maserati MC20, for that matter. Available in 1LZ, 2LZ, and 3LZ trims in either coupe or convertible formats, the Z06 really comes into its own with the Z07 Performance Package. The carbon-fiber wheels are optional extras, and they’re said to drop 41 pounds (18.6 kilograms) of unsprung mass.
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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