For the 2015 model year, Chevy reimagined the C7 Z06 with a blown V8 engine. 650 horsepower and just as many pound-feet of torque is a lot by most accounts, but some people disagree. This particular Z06, for example, has upgraded headers, intake, cooling, and an ECU tune.
When matched against a modified Dodge Challenger Hellcat with skinnies up front and drag radials out back, the ‘Vette doesn’t stand a chance on the blacktop of the Orlando Speed World Dragway. More to the point, the Mopar muscle car ran the quarter-mile run in 9.6 seconds at 147.6 mph (238 kph) while the sports car settled for 10.4 seconds at 138.2 mph (222 kph).
Next up, the tuned C7 Corvette Z06 wins against another C7 Corvette Z06 by three-tenths of a second. The third contender is a bit of a black horse, though. Although we don’t think much of the Chrysler 300 these days, this one posted 156.1 mph (251 kph) at 8.7 seconds, thanks to a big turbo.
Fourth time out on the strip, a Porsche 911 Turbo S from the 991 generation couldn’t do better than 133.7 mph (215 kph) in 10.372 seconds, whereas the ‘Vette ran 138.1 mph (222 kph) in 10.317 seconds. Not content with this result, the owner of the Neunelfer asked for a rematched that ended in a win for the all-wheel-drive German interloper with a twin-turbo boxer engine.
Described as “the most powerful and technologically advanced model in Corvette history” when it was new, the seventh generation in Z06 specification used to retail from $78,995. The convertible used to be $5,000 more than the coupe, and for the sake of comparison, the eighth-generation Corvette Stingray Convertible costs $7,500 more than the coupe.
Speaking of the C8, the mid-engine Stingray runs the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds with the factory tires, which is a perfect match for the seventh-gen Corvette Z06 with the seven-speed manual transmission. Upgrading to the eight-speed automatic bumps up the elapsed time to 10.95 seconds.
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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