Overview: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 in brief
Chevrolet's eighth-generation Corvette family is entirely different from its predecessors, mainly because the 'C8' is now mid-engined instead of having its V8 in the front of the car, and also due to the fact the American legend is finally available from the factory in right-hand drive. Further, for the 2025 model year, the first-ever four-wheel-drive, part-electric Corvette has arrived in the form of the E-Ray, and it's the most accelerative model in the 70-year-plus history of the Chevy flagship.
But it's not the C8 top dog. Because that honour belongs to this monster, the mighty Z06. A famous nameplate born back in 1963 for the C2 Corvette, the current version has the most-powerful, production-series, naturally aspirated V8 engine ever put onto the road.
So, with its race-car-derived powerplant and ultimate focus on driving ability more than anything else, the C8 Z06 is to Corvettes what the GT3 is to the Porsche 911. Some comparison, we're sure you'll agree, and sampling the Z06 on the roads of the UK has proven this is not a correlation without merit - as this Corvette is terrific to drive.
Pros & cons of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Pros: astounding engine, equally brilliant chassis, bags of presence
Cons: it'd be extremely expensive to have one here
What's different from the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray?
Both the Z06 and the E-Ray use the 90mm-broader 'widebody' shell that flares out the wheel arches at both ends of the car to accommodate the wide tyres (which measure a colossal 345-section at the rear) that are needed by the Corvette to corral such power.
But there, the similarities pretty much end. There's no mistaking the Z06 for its stablemates, as it has far more serious aerodynamics fitted to it, formed of a nose splitter and front flics, and a whopping great T-bar spoiler perched on the back of the rear deck.
The vivid 'Competition Yellow' test car also had exquisite carbon-fibre wheels to trim back the vehicle's unsprung mass, and the final flourish is a small set of 'Z06' badges mounted low down on the body behind the doors, where the hybrid model instead has 'E-Ray' emblems.
Oh, actually, one last thing: on the Stingray and E-Ray Corvettes, there's a stylised model of the eponymous (for the former car, at any rate) marine-dwelling creature; on this Z06, that's replaced by the Corvette's fabled chequered-flag-and-Chevy-logo symbol instead.
Performance of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06
• Phenomenal noise from 5.5-litre V8
• Scintillating and approachable chassis
• Firm ride, but you could use it daily
If the 'LT2' engine in the Stingray and E-Ray models is your classic American V8, with fairly simple internal technology (it uses overhead valves activated by pushrods, not camshafts in the cylinder head itself) and the sort of lovely, bass-heavy soundtrack that you'd associate with cars that prefers to operate in a lower rev range (it peaks in power at just 6,450rpm), the LT6 in this Z06 is a completely different beast.
It's derived from the engine in the GTLM competition version of this Corvette, known as the C8.R, and features such technical highlights as titanium intake valves and conrods, sodium-filled exhaust valves and a flat-plane crank.
Its swept capacity is, in simple terms, 700cc down on the LT2, and it even makes less maximum torque as a result - 595Nm, in this instance, compared to the 613Nm in the other Chevrolet V8.
However, the Z06's V8 manages to outpunch even the electrically assisted drivetrain in the E-Ray, with 646hp coming on song at a massive 8,550rpm. Detuned from its US specification of 679hp courtesy of the ramifications of European emissions legislation, it is nevertheless a stonking amount of power to get from a V8 engine that has neither turbo- nor superchargers to help it along the road.
To drive the Z06 and experience the V8's magic is as transformative an event as getting into a 992 Porsche 911 Carrera, revelling in its performance and soundtrack, and then immediately transferring out of it directly into a GT3 with its stratospheric 4.0-litre powerplant and realising there's a whole other realm of mechanical genius in the world.
No doubt about it, both the Stingray and E-Ray Corvettes sound more like, well, you'd expect of Corvettes - but the hollow, menace-laden howling of the 5.5-litre engine in the Z06 is unlike any eight-cylinder noise we've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Just hearing it as it bellows through the 4,000-5,000rpm band and then begins to emit a piercing shriek in the frenzy of revs up to the redline is to enjoy one of the all-time-great automotive symphonies.
With its insatiable hunger for revs and rapier-sharp throttle response, the performance of the ultimate C8 is eye-opening and thrilling. But crucially, it's never terrifying. Despite sending all that grunt to the rear wheels only, through a splendid eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, traction is really not a major issue at all. And that's despite the fact the car we drove was on semi-treaded Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres, with the roads still damp in places from early-morning drizzle.
What makes the power of the Z06 even remotely usable is its phenomenal chassis. Its suspension is considerably firmer in its spring rates than that of other Corvettes, while the Magnetic Selective Ride Control adaptive damping has a different control map to make the most of its singular abilities.
This does make the Z06 quite a lot stiffer for low-speed ride quality than the other models, the car moving abruptly up and down over bumps in the road even in its gentlest 'Tour' setting. But it speaks volumes about the sheer quality of the suspension that it's never uncomfortable in the way it deals with larger imperfections, proving that track-focused cars can work on the public road if you get the right sort of top-end hardware installed into the chassis.
Throw in fabulous, communicative, accurate and quick-acting steering, a set of mighty carbon-ceramic brakes and some nice paddle-shifts on the squared-off wheel, and what you have with the C8 Z06 is a car which is incredibly quick across ground, even on lumpier roads, without ever feeling like it is trying to kill you or send you flying off into the scenery.
It's an unmitigated joy to interact with this ferocious Corvette, which doesn't give the impression it's a fish out of water over here in Europe. Instead, to drive it is to understand that this is a mid-engined, track-focused supercar operating right at the zenith of its glittering game.
Interior, practicality, tech & comfort of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06
• Competition bucket seats heighten ambience
• High-quality materials used throughout
• Driving position a touch too high
Like the E-Ray, the Corvette Z06's cabin is centred on a 12-inch digital instrument cluster and 8.0-inch central touchscreen. The latter is OK, nothing more, and not pushing the boundaries of what is possible with in-car technology these days, but we kind of like that because it's not like the Chevy is trying to detract from the process of driving with distraction techniques - instead, the best two displays in the Z06 are the binnacle cluster plus the head-up display above, both of which have clear instrumentation and lovely graphics that shift according to which mode the car is in.
To be fair, Z06-specific touches amount to little more than the badge on the base of the sporty yet squarish steering wheel, plus the extensive use of microfibre on the upper surfaces of the cabin.
The example we were driving had the upgraded 'Competition' bucket seats, which give plenty of support and a properly racy feel to the Corvette's cabin. Sadly, like the regular 'GT2' chairs in the other cars, they're mounted just a fraction too high in relation to the body of the Z06.
This is great for outward visibility but not so endearing for making you feel like you are sitting down on the floor - which is what you normally want from top-end sports, performance and supercars like this.
Irish pricing & rivals of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06
• Not coming to Ireland officially
• Z06 is the dearest Corvette of the lot
• Dedicated drivers' cars are the main opposition
It's highly unlikely Chevrolet will officially sell the Z06 in Ireland. Even importing one from the UK is going to mean spending something in excess of €350,000 just to get it here, which - lest we forget - is for a car that was once a rival for the Ford Mustang; itself an all-American icon that's now available in factory right-hand drive after a long wait, and which would now cost about a third as much as the Chevy. For, admittedly, a car which isn't half as special as the Corvette any longer (bonkers GTD variant excepted, of course).
Thus, the Corvette seems to have evolved away from its compatriots and is now a genuine performance alternative to the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Maserati, among more. Not all of its obvious rivals are mid-engined like it now is, including most famously Stuttgart's long-serving 911, but the Chevy feels like it can mix it with the 'Old World elite'. That's how talented it is to drive, certainly as a Z06.
Verdict - should you buy the Chevrolet Corvette Z06?
You could head into a drive of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 thinking you were about to wield the motoring equivalent of Mjölnir: masses and masses of power, but a serious dearth of finesse.
However, it's not quite like that. Yes, the brute force of the flat-plane-crank V8 in the middle of the 'Vette is the star of the show, but the way this American icon's chassis can handle that ferocity is what impresses.
It's difficult to get hold of, it wouldn't be cheap even if you could bag one, and the everyday ride comfort is on the threshold of being too intense for most at times - but otherwise the Z06 is easily the greatest dynamic talent we've seen from the far side of the Atlantic to date. Established European supercar makers ought to be, rightly, quite worried by its excellence.
FAQs about the Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Where did the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 get its name?
There was a special, high-performance equipment package for the second-generation Corvette in the 1963 model year, with Z06 being its ordering number (a modern-day equivalent is the 'Z51' package on all C8 Corvettes that is fitted to every European model as standard). The code came from Z, for Zora Arkus-Duntov - the man known as the 'Father of the Corvette' - and then simply a random number.
The C2 Corvette was the first car to use the Z06 tag for a go-faster version, as well as being the first variant to take the now-legendary 'Stingray' name, and while Z06 wasn't used again until the C5 Corvette in 2001, it has been an ever-present model of each 'Vette generation since then.
Is the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 supercharged?
No. Previous generations of the Z06 have featured supercharged V8 engines, including the preceding C7 model and its 'LT4' unit, while the ultimate road-going Corvette nameplate - that of ZR1 - has used a 'blower' in both C6 and C7 forms. But the current European line-up of C8 Corvettes all feature naturally aspirated engines, including the Z06.
Want to know more about the Chevrolet Corvette Z06?
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