COVERT GUY

Nothing to see here. Just the shortest-stopping, most tenaciously gripping production car we've ever tested. Oh, it has a kind of powerful engine, too.
A line that includes a 650-hp thunder wagon with the sophistication and poise of the world’s best sports cars. There, we said it. The Z06 must be ranked among the world’s best. You know that we here at Car and Driver are not idle flatterers, our job being to find the faults for you in haste, before you have to live with them at leisure over 72 months of payments. However, the Z06 completely fulfills its mission to be a super Corvette. It is an accessible American fantasy intended to inject joy and fascination and, let’s face it, a healthy dose of awe into the driving experience, such that there’s not much left to shout about except details.

Details such as a 60-mph nuking of three seconds flat, set by a Z06 equipped with the Z07 Performance package and an automatic. This car tore the quarter-mile a new one at 11.1 seconds at 127 mph, scorched the skidpad with 1.19 g’s of grip, and stopped from 70 in an astonishing 128 feet, the latter two figures setting C/D records for a production car. We also tested a slightly less potent manual-trans Z06 [see bottom of page 2].


Please pause here for an important message about tires. If you’ve followed our preview coverage, you already know that there are now a lot of Z06s to choose from. There are coupe and convertible body styles. There are two transmissions, a seven-speed manual with automatic rev matching and an eight-speed automatic. And there are three trim levels, dozens of options, and three separate aero packages. Then there’s the mega Z07 Performance package that further weaponizes the car with carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon-fiber aero package, a slightly revised suspension tune, and different tires. The Z07’s run-flat Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer almost-slicks replace the base run-flat Michelin Pilot Super Sports and are, to borrow from Mark Twain, the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

Back to the test numbers: Um, holy crap. Riding a Z06 through the first four gears feels like putting a saddle on Superman, though the Z06 is 200 pounds heavier than the old ZR1. Obviously, there’s a squidge more power, but this is down to the race tires and the fact that today’s automatics are often faster than manuals in a straight line. We didn’t even use launch control, a simple flat-foot drop in full auto mode being all that was needed to produce these fireworks from the test equipment.


The Z06 we photographed was fully loaded with the Z07 package, Stage 3 carbon aero trim kit, and optional carbon-kablooey interior. As you can see, there’s a Z06 for, well, if not exactly everyone, then a wider swath of humanity’s more impatient dumdrivers, all of whom will be swamped by admirers at parties. Prepare for the eager smiles of your audience to droop slightly when you say you bought the automatic, as up to 70 percent of Z06 buyers are expected to do. This is a natural, instinctual disappointment, conditioned by the expectation that real sports cars have sticks, mounting evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.

We drove both the manual and the automatic Z06 and feel that the stick, with its notably soft and seamless clutch takeup, is still the best choice. Rev matching sounds like a hateful automation of the heel-and-toe skill until you get used to it. Then you wonder why all manuals don’t have it. Or just turn it off. Or use it to learn proper rev matching and then turn it off. Continued...


Highs:
A race car with a warranty, lots of layers to peel, a version for everyone.

Lows:
You'll bleed cash getting the best options, auto trans dims the fun slightly.

Verdict:
Runs with the best in the world.




PRICE AS TESTED: $97,595 (base price: $78,995)

ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 376 cu in, 6162 cc
Power: 650 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 650 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Length: 176.9 in
Width: 77.1 in Height: 48.6 in
Curb weight: 3558 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.8 sec
Zero to 160 mph: 22.9 sec
Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 3.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 1.7 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 2.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 127 mph
Top speed (C/D est): 185 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 128 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.19 g

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 13/24 mpg

TEST NOTES: Launch control keeps cold-tire wheelspin to a minimum, but once the rubber is warm, the rears have the stick to take an aggressive stab of the throttle without any electronic assistance. Oddly, the trans upshifts short of redline in automatic, but this is quicker than shifting manually at redline.

COVERT GUY

For comparison when Car and Driver tested the 2006 Z06, it ran 3.6 to 60 mph, 11.7 @ 125 mph through the 1/4, stopped from 70 in 162 feet and the C6 Z06 weighed 400 pounds less.

3 Z06ZR1

According to test results the new car slows a lot to 150! The old Z06 was faster to 150 ,160 and had a higher top speed!

NSC5

Well, you are comparing the high speed results from theZ06 level 3 aero package which will readily outperform the previous model on the track and has much more downforce. If you want the highest top speed go for the level 1 aero. Technology improves and products get better, the next generation will outperform this Z06 so nothing you buy will remain the latest and greatest for long.

COVERT GUY

http://media.caranddriver.com/files/...-z06-specs.pdf

COVERT GUY

True. Just don't say this to the old muscle car crowd. .... "well back in 19 and 67 my (insert any random muscle car), was rated at 350 hp from the factory, but it really made 600 hp."