The Ultimate Corvette: the Z06

What is a Corvette?

This monster of a subcompact hatchback has been raising hell in city streets and open highways since Chevrolet introduced it to the public. It has become a legend on its own, and improving such a thing of beauty may pose a challenge to even the craftiest engineers.

But Chevrolet has no intention of just stopping with what they have. It must have been a welcome challenge for what they have done to the new model of the Corvette Z06 is simply genius. The company has again raised the bar not only for their competition but for them as well in releasing the newest edition of the Corvette Z06.

The latest Z06 is immediately noticeable as a Corvette, it has all the telltale signs of where it comes from, with the exterior designs just altered a little bit to exude more aggressiveness on its styling and to also lower the coefficient of drag.

All adjustments to the roof panel, floorpan and fender liners are to increase the rigidity of the structure of this unique Corvette. However, this is not to say that the original structure is weak, but the manufacturer just increased it to handle what extra power the engineers have bestowed on the car.

While it may look like other ‘Vettes, what is under the hood is what separates it from other models – the standard 6.0 liter LS2 V8 engine with a maximum output of 400 horsepower which all Corvette carries is not what the Z06 employs. Instead it carries a much meaner 7.0 liter, LS7 engine which gives a massive 505 horsepower at 6300 revolutions per minute and 470 lb.ft. of torque at 4800 revs. That is a whole lot of power and that makes the Z06 cut above the rest, following in the tradition of its predecessors.

Another thing that sets this car aside is that is not offered with an automatic transmission. If you want to drive it, you are going to have to do it manually which is the only way you can truly enjoy the driving experience of a car such as this. What transfers all those amazing mass of power to the wheels is a six-speed manual transaxle, meaning the transmission and the rear axle are integrated into one component. Doing this helps in weight distribution and in the entire stability and handling of the car.

With all the power and the fact that it can go from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, noise is one of the more prominent identifications of the car. All the noise and vibrations from engine though is no threat to the high performance Chevrolet parts in the entire car. Anyway, the noise of all those 505 horses is music to the ears of performance car enthusiasts. Anyone who has heard how a Corvette sounds like knows that well.

With a top speed of 198 mph and an awesome acceleration, this has got to have one of the most responsive braking systems. And of course, it has. It uses disc brakes on the front and rear wheels, 14 and 13.4 inches in diameter respectively. Calipers on the front are pushed by six pistons and four pistons on the rear brake calipers. It also uses an anti-lock braking system which features a “competition driving” mode. All these features designed to increase the safety of the driver, after all it is a Corvette and it is just like being strapped to a rocket and blasted at an astounding speed. And with the addition of more power and the improved design of the car, this rocket of a car would be much faster.