Can the 2015 Corvette Z06 Handle Winter-Beater Duty?

By Manuel Carrillo III - January 27, 2015

There’s no middle ground when it comes to this one. You’re either hot or cold to the idea of driving a 2015 Corvette Z06 during winter in a snowy region. But no matter what you think about the daily drive, 365 in a C7 Z06, there’s one thing that unites us about these images: they make us all feel cold.

Check out these glamour shots of the same car in warmer surroundings. >>

One of Corvette Forum’s most beloved forum members, “Phantasms“, known to the rest of the world as Gene Sanchez Leeds, is perhaps the craziest man to ever own a Corvette. In a recent article he authored in Road & Track, he informs us, “I once installed a 100 dry shot of nitrous on a Hertz ZHZ rental ‘Vette and emptied the bottle racing in Southern California. Another time, I ripped the roof off my C6 Z06 to make the drive a little more enjoyable.”

Click below to roll that beautiful top-popping footage.

Gene takes ‘Vette enjoyment to levels heretofore unseen. He’s my newest hero. If you’re in the camp that believes Corvettes were meant to be enjoyed as much as humanly possible, Gene is the object of your newfound man crush, too.

If you’re in the camp that believes Corvettes should be preserved like artifacts in the Smithsonian, you’re probably grabbing for your pitchforks.

Pitchfork enthusiasts: the next bit of news is going to inflame you. Gene says, “I will be daily driving this Z06 throughout the winter.” Gene’s daily drive is longer than most people’s. He commutes an hour each way into and out of Manhattan.

Can the 2015 Corvette Z06 Handle Winter-Beater Duty?

If the photos haven’t clued you in already, this is a Corvette Z06 with the Z07 package. In that Road & Track article, Gene reminds us the 2015 Z06 produces around 450 lb-ft of torque at idle, which leads me to believe this will be the coolest snow plow you’ll see this winter, as long as something bigger than it doesn’t end up plowing the Corvette off the road.

At least Gene is rocking a set of winter tires on what is sure to become one of the most famous 2015 Corvette Z06s of all time.

Gene will be updating us during his winter travels, and we’ll be posting those late-breaking updates here on the Corvette Forum front page. “This Z06 is equipped with the Performance Data Recorder,” he says. “So if I do slide off the road and splash into the Hudson River, you’ll be able to see firsthand video, along with my frantic steering, throttle, and brake inputs, followed by me doing the dog paddle.”

I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, Corvette Forum will be covering it.

Check out the hi-res gallery below for more of this glorious sacrilege.