Photo: Chevrolet
General Motors really messed up the rollout of its most anticipated sports car in decades. The first cracks were visible a few months after the grand reveal in July 2019, starting with the walkout of 48,000 workers. The strike lasted six weeks, delaying the start of production to February 2020. Back on January 21st of that year to remember and forget, the CDC confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the United States.
The health crisis eventually took its toll on both automobile production and the supply chains that keep those car-making plants going. General Motors also made a mess of the build quality of the Stingray, and to make it worse still for prospective customers, many dealers marked up the mid-engine sports car from Bowling Green beyond affordability. That was a huge turnoff in and of itself, alienating many people from the most radical ‘Vette since the Corvette ZR-1 with its Lotus-designed DOHC LT5 powerplant.
On the upside, Chevrolet made amends with the introduction of the all-new Z06 that reintroduced the DOHC layout with a special twist in the guise of a flat-plane crankshaft. Directly inspired by the free-breathing V8 of the Ferrari 458 Italia, the LT6 engine in the Z06 is only part of the car’s appeal. The wide-bodied aesthetic, stickier tires, carbon-fiber wheels, modified transmission, and crazier aero add to the specialness of the Z06 compared to the small block-engined Stingray and every other Z06 before the C8.
The problem is, the Z06 is even more unattainable than the Stingray. The biggest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit stopped accepting orders for the 2023 model year Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at the beginning of September, and Chevrolet has already confirmed that Z06 production is constrained to 10 percent of accepted orders. Better late than never, the Golden Bowtie has finally gotten the Z06 configurator up and running for the U.S. market.
The coupe and convertible are listed with three grades. Retail pricing kicks off at $106,695 for the coupe and $114,195 for the convertible, sans the destination freight charge and gas-guzzler tax. No fewer than 14 exterior colors are currently available, plus 21 interior color options for the 3LZ. Regardless of body style and trim level, the Z07 package costs $8,995.
On that note, what is your ideal configuration for the all-new Z06?
On the upside, Chevrolet made amends with the introduction of the all-new Z06 that reintroduced the DOHC layout with a special twist in the guise of a flat-plane crankshaft. Directly inspired by the free-breathing V8 of the Ferrari 458 Italia, the LT6 engine in the Z06 is only part of the car’s appeal. The wide-bodied aesthetic, stickier tires, carbon-fiber wheels, modified transmission, and crazier aero add to the specialness of the Z06 compared to the small block-engined Stingray and every other Z06 before the C8.
The problem is, the Z06 is even more unattainable than the Stingray. The biggest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit stopped accepting orders for the 2023 model year Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at the beginning of September, and Chevrolet has already confirmed that Z06 production is constrained to 10 percent of accepted orders. Better late than never, the Golden Bowtie has finally gotten the Z06 configurator up and running for the U.S. market.
The coupe and convertible are listed with three grades. Retail pricing kicks off at $106,695 for the coupe and $114,195 for the convertible, sans the destination freight charge and gas-guzzler tax. No fewer than 14 exterior colors are currently available, plus 21 interior color options for the 3LZ. Regardless of body style and trim level, the Z07 package costs $8,995.
On that note, what is your ideal configuration for the all-new Z06?
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