Careless Carsitter Discovers Corvette Z06 Limp Mode…At 160 MPH
Perhaps the real moral of this story is to be careful who you hand the keys of your Corvette over to.
Ever dream of your Corvette-owning friend handing you the keys to their ride and telling you the ‘Vette would be in your care for a good while? One man had that happen to him not too long ago.
Recently, VINwiki sat down with Blake Johnson for an edition of the channel’s “Car Stories.” The first half is spent talking about a friend he’s known for over three decades, whose father owned a 1987 Ferrari Testarossa. The two friends bonded over the Ferrari, whether through high-speed runs on outer roads or getting smoked by Mustangs on the street.
Fast-forward a few years (3:25 on the video’s timeline), his friend “became a big Corvette guy” who was on “his third Corvette,” a 2016 Z06 with a manual and 650 horses on tap. Johnson says that as soon as his friend bought the Z06, he underwent knee surgery, and wouldn’t be able to drive it for quite some time.
“He called me, and he said, ‘Hey… I know you’ve been wantin’ to drive this car… you can have it while I’m recuperating from knee surgery.”
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Johnson couldn’t believe his friend’s generosity, but he ultimately took his friend up on being the Z06’s “owner” for the seven weeks he would be out of the driver’s seat. Johnson “took many people for rides, scared many people,” and one chilly morning, scared himself after testing the tires for grip one time too many. The result? Discovering the Z06’s “limp-home” mode upon hitting 160 mph on the highway, causing the interior lights to light-up like “a Christmas tree” until a few restarts fixed the limping.
All in all, Johnson had the time of his life with the Z06, and was “very sad to give [the Z06] back” to his friend, one he considers “a very good friend” for entrusting the Z06 in his care.
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