While General Motors has closed the order books for the 2023 Corvette Z06, it does not mean that the information flow about the American model has stopped. Instead, it has surfaced that GM will allow some customers of the 2023 Z06 Corvette to assemble the new LT06 engines if they like. It will be done at a price, though.
As some of you may remember, years ago, this was an option for customers of the Z06, but that program had to take a break because of the pandemic, as well as the Corvette generation shift. Well, according to reports, the program will make a comeback at the Performance Build Center inside the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The option will reportedly be available starting from Q2 2023, as Corvette Blogger notes, and it is expected to cost more than the $5,000 of yesteryear, back when this possibility was last offered to Corvette customers. That is not the only change in the program, mind you, as customers will have a dedicated workspace for the completion of their engine build.
In case you were unaware, in most factories around the world, the just-in-sequence production process is enabled on the production lines, and a product must go through several stages on the line to become ready for its customer. In this case, the milled engine block would be mated to its internals, one step at a time, on dedicated spaces on a production line, each with a specialized worker.
Previously, when the customers who wanted to assemble the engine of their Corvette themselves were in the facility, they would have to walk beside the engine through all the steps of the build.
Now, the program involves having a dedicated workspace arranged for them, complete with all the parts brought there. It is a more bespoke approach, which is usually done for one-offs, but it will yield results equal to those of a conventional production line.
We already know that it takes three and a half hours to build one of these new LT6 Engines for the C8 Corvette when just professionals are involved. With a regular client who is guided by an expert, it may take several hours more, depending on the skill of that customer, along with their willingness to follow instructions.
It is important to note that the new DOHC motor with a flat-plane crank is more complex than its push-rod predecessor, so even customers who have previously assembled an older Corvette engine will not be able to say “I have done this before, time me.”
Each assembled Z06 engine will be taken to a dyno test to ensure that it provides the claimed 670 horsepower and that it can reach its 8,600 rpm redline without any issues. Once the test is completed, the approved engine is put aside, and it begins to wait for it to be sent to the Corvette factory where it will meet the chassis that it will serve.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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