Photo: Carlifestyle/Instagram
Now that customer deliveries for the C8 Corvette have kicked off, the time has come to look past the base Stingray. And the next derivative to come our way should be the Z06.
Unlike the Stingray, which uses a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 with a traditional cross-plane crankshaft, the Z06 is expected to be animated by a V8 based on the 5.5-liter flat-plane crank found on the C8.R racecar.
Motorsport restrictions mean the circuit model's LT5 unit won't go past 500 horsepower, but that kind of limitations won't apply to the road car, so this should offer a noticeable horsepower premium over the 495-pony output of the Stingray.
Firepower aside, GM engineers have to take the Z06 badge pretty far in terms of handling. With the mid-engined platform allowing this to happen, we should see the newcomer packing the kind of advanced suspension solution that would allow for serious improvements in terms of how the bends are handled.
Then there's the aero - with the respectable C7 generation, the Corvette struggled to go below the 7m barrier on the Nurburgring, even in ZR1 trim (think: 755 hp and a generous rear wing, among others). So we could expect the C8 Z06 to come up with downforce solutions allowing it to be a better friend of those who enjoy spending time at the track.
For one thing, prototypes of the supercar have been spotted testing in the company of a Ferrari 458 Italia, as well as that of a 991.2-generation Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
Of course, this would require the newcomer to sport a more aggressive look compared to that portrayed in the rendering above - pixel tip to Carlifestyle for this visual effort.
The C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is expected to land within the next twelve months, probably as a 2021 model. As far as the pricing is concerned, optimists don't expect this to climb too far past the $100,000 mark, so the Corvette can continue to revolutionize the mid-engined segment.
Motorsport restrictions mean the circuit model's LT5 unit won't go past 500 horsepower, but that kind of limitations won't apply to the road car, so this should offer a noticeable horsepower premium over the 495-pony output of the Stingray.
Firepower aside, GM engineers have to take the Z06 badge pretty far in terms of handling. With the mid-engined platform allowing this to happen, we should see the newcomer packing the kind of advanced suspension solution that would allow for serious improvements in terms of how the bends are handled.
Then there's the aero - with the respectable C7 generation, the Corvette struggled to go below the 7m barrier on the Nurburgring, even in ZR1 trim (think: 755 hp and a generous rear wing, among others). So we could expect the C8 Z06 to come up with downforce solutions allowing it to be a better friend of those who enjoy spending time at the track.
For one thing, prototypes of the supercar have been spotted testing in the company of a Ferrari 458 Italia, as well as that of a 991.2-generation Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
Of course, this would require the newcomer to sport a more aggressive look compared to that portrayed in the rendering above - pixel tip to Carlifestyle for this visual effort.
The C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is expected to land within the next twelve months, probably as a 2021 model. As far as the pricing is concerned, optimists don't expect this to climb too far past the $100,000 mark, so the Corvette can continue to revolutionize the mid-engined segment.
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