American professional stock car racing driver Jesse Iwuji has recently taken his brand-new Z06 to the Irwindale Speedway in California for a few eighth-mile runs. The video below features the first two runs, of which the first was the best so far, clocking a respectable 6.865 seconds.
The United States Navy Reserve officer used the default launch control settings, launching at roughly 2,500 revolutions per minute. His bone-stock Corvette isn’t stock in terms of rubber, though. Originally equipped with Michelin-supplied 345s mounted on 21-inch wheels, the non-Z07 sports car now rocks DOT-approved 305 drag radials on 20-inch wheels.
Mr. Iwuji sadly couldn’t get those sticky rear tires warm enough for his eighth-mile sprints, and the track prep left much to be desired as well. On the upside, joining the 6-second club on the very first try is no small feat.
It’s also worth remembering that General Motors didn’t create a strip-slaying monster with the C8 Z06, but a corner-carving thriller that sounds pretty darn exotic thanks to its Ferrari-inspired engine. That flat-plane crankshaft V8 was benchmarked against the 458 Italia, the last naturally-aspirated V8 mid-engine supercar to wear the Cavallino Rampante logo.
The subsequent 488 and F8 are both turbocharged, and Chevrolet will follow in the Italian automaker’s footsteps. Dubbed ZR1, the next C8 variant will employ the 5.5-liter V8 of the Z06 with a couple of spinny lads for good measure. Rather than LT6, the twin-turbo engine is referred to as LT7. Later on, the last hurrah of the C8 will combine the LT7 with the electric drive unit of the E-Ray to create the 1,000-horsepower Zora.
At press time, GM makes three variants of the C8, starting with the small block-engined Stingray. The Z06 arrived for the 2023 model year with the high-revving LT6 that you can hear in all of its glory in the clip below. The final addition to the family is the previously mentioned E-Ray, which combines the LT2 small block with an electrified front axle to deliver 655 ponies on full song. Even though it’s the heaviest C8 to date, the E-Ray also happens to be the fastest-accelerating Corvette ever. Believe it or not, it needs 2.5 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour).
Essentially the high-tech replacement for the Grand Sport, this variant may be a little too heavy and too geeky for peeps in the market for a proper driver’s car. Although that e-AWD setup makes it pretty competent in the twisties, the rear-wheel-drive Z06 is the more agile sibling. GM claims 1.2 Gs on the skid pad for the Z06 versus 1.1 Gs for the E-Ray.
On a winding circuit rather than a strip, the Z06 is obviously faster as long as the driver knows what they’re doing. Rear-wheel-drive sports cars – especially those with a midship configuration – are notoriously hard to control on the limit. All-wheel drive, on the other hand, makes it a bit easier to keep the rear end under control when you’re really pushing it.
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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