That ZR1 Prototype with the Huge Wing Might Not Be the ZR1 Prototype
Now that both the Z06 and Grand Sport versions of the C7 Corvette are out of the way, it’s time for Chevrolet to work on even more versions of their iconic sports car. There is rampant speculation about the next-generation Corvette, but what will Chevrolet bring us in the meantime. The ZR1 is the obvious choice, and we even suspected that some recent spy shots were of that car. But what if that wasn’t a ZR1, but something else?
CorvetteBlogger has some interesting speculation that makes some sense. The most recent spy shots shown including the car with a huge rear wing on the back. That wing is one very strong indicator that the this car isn’t the ZR1, but perhaps a Z06X track car.
The ZR1 has always been a high-powered grand tourer, while the Z06 was the sports car for ‘Vette owners who wanted to take their cars to the track. The ZR1 was fast and comfortable, but never really included any ridiculous aero to keep the car planted when cornering.
For the SEMA show in 2010, Chevrolet showed off a C6 Z06X concept that took all of the greatness of the Z06 and cranked it up to 11. Chevrolet stripped out all the non-essentials, including the radio, and added a bunch of carbon lightweight bits. While it never saw production, it would be a great car for a club racing series.
Honestly it’d make sense for Chevrolet to offer an even harder-core track car for Corvette enthusiasts. While the current Z06 is a bit analogous to the Camaro Z/28, the Z/28 is still more track-focused. If General Motors allowed the engineers to collaborate on the next Z/28 and this Z06X track car, there could be two serious track cars on the way.
My only real question would be how a Z06X affects the rumored mid-engine Corvette that’s coming. Why work hard on making a stupid-fast-on-a-track front-engine Corvette when those same resources could be working on the design and engineering of the mid-engine car. It won’t be a simple task to relocate that engine, and even a company the size of General Motors only has a finite amount of resources to devote to a particular product.
Those resources might even be more scarce when you realize that Chevrolet currently has a 129-day supply of Camaros on dealership lots, there might not be a lot of focus on engineering more cars when consumers are clearly opting for crossovers and SUVs.
But the Corvette is an entirely different animal, and I don’t see the Corvette going anywhere for awhile. Which also means I don’t expect to see high-performance special edition Corvettes going anywhere either.
What do you all think? This clearly would be a car targeted specifically at all of you, the enthusiasts. Let us know what you have to say in the comments or the forums!
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via [CorvetteBlogger]
