First C8 Corvette Z06 Engine Failure Occurs With Just 52 Miles on the Odometer
A loud rattling noise and lots of smoke seem to indicate the very first documented C8 Corvette Z06 engine failure.
As most car enthusiasts are well aware, new vehicles tend to have teething issues – which is why we’ve always been told to wait a year or more before buying a new model. However, when something as exciting like the 2023 Corvette Z06 comes out, it’s hard to resist that temptation, no matter what potential risks might come along with that decision. Rather than facing some sort of simple build quality problems or small mechanical issue, however, the owner of this particular car experienced something far larger, as it is apparently the first C8 Corvette Z06 engine failure that we’ve seen go down since the car’s launch.
That person is YouTuber Marco Polo, who recently took delivery of their shiny new Z06 at a dealership in California, a splendid experience that he rightfully wanted to capture on video. It’s perfect timing given the holiday season as well, making the ultimate “Christmas present” to himself, as the owner calls it. However, that joyous occasion quickly turns sour when a check engine light comes on during that trek home, at which point he calls OnStar for some assistance.
Unfortunately, the car can’t be towed back to the dealer as its gates are already closed and locked down for the night. But according to the owner, the Corvette was making a rattling noise that only grew louder before the car began to lose power. It was at that point that the owner parked it on the side of the freeway, but he notes that when he tried to restart it a bit later, it began “smoking like crazy.” Making matters worse, he also reveals that he paid a whopping 50k over sticker for this particular car – which was actually a bit less than the $100k markup the dealer was originally seeking.
Back at his own shop, the owner has his trusty mechanic start the Corvette up, and we get to hear the rattling noise and see a decent amount of smoke coming from the exhaust, but at this point, there are many more questions to be answered. With just 52 miles on the clock and an average speed of 18.7 mph, it doesn’t appear as if someone was out there racing this thing before its break-in period was over, but it is possible that the car has been revved to its limit more times than not. Or, perhaps this is just a one-off, defective fluke.
Whatever the reason, this very first C8 Corvette Z06 engine failure remains a bit of a mystery for now, at least until we receive an update from the owner. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what’s attributed as the cause of this premature problem, though we’re certain that there’s much, much more to this story that has yet to be revealed.
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