Will the Z06 end with this body style (C5) or continue on to the C6? When will the last year of the C5 be? Thanks :)

 

Mid '04, is supposed to be the advent of the C6.........
The '04 Z's,( possibly 425 HP) ( and maybe) the standard C5's, will get a upgrade in HP (around 385)..to keep sales up until the mid year changeover....
I look for the Z's to continue till at least then...
After that, I expect a new model #, or name change, with an upgraded engine.............all IMHO :yesnod:

 

yeah maybe a ZL1!

 

Somewhere I remember reading that GM will retire the Z06 name once again when the last of the C5s come off the line.


[Modified by MY 2002 Z06, 7:33 AM 7/28/2002]

 

We're all guessing of course.But,I have to guess the way a company would behave.They will have to maximize profit w/least cost.So:
A Z06 till the sales graph slows,then a resurrection of some option code.And like ties,never throw out your old names...

 

Until they dont sell anymore ...

 

It seems that I have read several places that there will not be a Z06 (or comparable) at least the first year, and possibly the first couple of years of the C6. That makes sense given what they did with the C5.

 

I read that also-think fm the Road and Track article

 

We were told at the factory Friday that the C6 will be made in 2005 as a 2006 model. Z06 will continue until then. There will be a C6 super Corvette but it may not debut in the same year as the regular C6.

 

As with many things, the best predictor of the future is a close look at the past. The C1 through C5 designations seems a bit muddled and until recent years were used internally by GM and not by the Corvette owners. I never remember referring to the new 1968 Corvette as the new C3. It would seem that the general idea is that the C# changes when there are fundamental changes in the platform or chassis. This rule works out with past designations with the exception of the C2 to C3 change. There the change was in body only with the driveline and chassis were carried over. This only clouds what changing the number really means. The original C1 chassis of king pin front end and live axle rear lasted from 1953 to 1962 or ten model years. The C2 (63-67) featured a completely new front and rear suspension as well as a new body style. The C3 carried over the C2 front and rear suspension as well as engines and transmissions changing only the body. The C3 style lasted from 1968 to 1982 or 15 years. The chassis design actually lasted a total of 20 years. Talk about longevity. The C4 final replaced the old C2/C3 chassis in 1983. Due to early design production delays the first C4 sold to the public were sold as 1984s. The C4s featured a completely new chassis and driveline components. The C4 engine and 4 speed auto were previewed in the last of the C3 in 1982. The C4 chassis lasted from 1983 to 1996, 14 years depending on how you count it. At the end of the C4 run, Vettes sales performance was poor and the Vettes faced stiff competition from other sports cars that equal the Vettes performance for about the same dollars. The C5 debuted in 1997 at the last possible moment as the C4 could not meet the 1997 side impact safety standards. What this history tells us is that GM typically will run a Vette chassis design for 10 to 15 years, or longer. Major chassis changes worth of a C number change will happen only when forced upon GM by poor sales, stiff market competitions, or inability of the existing chassis to be upgraded to meet safety standards.
The current C5 faces absolutely none of the required pressures that would normally predict an up coming chassis change. The C5 platform is only beginning its seventh year of production. It’s is still new and relatively world class. The 2002 production figures are reported to be over 37,000 units sold. Best numbers since 1985. There are currently no production cars that will match a base Z51, 6 speed coupes numbers for anywhere near the money. The same can be said of the $50k Z06. There is no indications that the C5 chassis will not continue to meet or exceed and of the up coming safety requirements or standards. All the facts indicate that the current C5 design will be with us for at least 5 or 6 more years. If this is true, what about all the talk of a new C6? Look at what has changed… We, Corvette owners and the automotive press have caught on to the C# numbering scheme that was originally internal to GM. We call our cars C4s and C5s. The magazine head lines call out the Vettes C# designations. The GM brand management and marketing screwballs have caught on. Do a body refresh, make it sharp where it’s round and round where it’s sharp, fiddle with the interior a bit and most of all, slap a new number after that there C thingy and they will sell like hot cakes. These are the same marketing geniuses that gave us the bold and dynamic (never been done before) $5000 super 50th Anniversary marketing package. A real design change worthy of a C6 designation is many years away. In an ideal Vette world the design engineers would rule and the marketing fools would try to make entertaining TV commercials
:lol:

 

Thank you Terry. :cheers:

I love my CAR :flag

 

Think GM will stop making the Z06 when the C6 comes out.

 

GM will discontinue the Z06 when the C6 comes out. There is talk of bringing the Z06 back a year or two later, but I think that with the overwhelming success of Z06 sales now, they will try to get a C6 Z06 (or whatever they call it) in production as soon as possible. Note, the C6 will not be over 400 HP, so us Z06 owners will still have the baddest vette made. (waits for :mad from the ZR1 owners) :D

Alex

 

Forever

 

Umhmm...ZL1. The really lucky ones are the ZR..1. They will be around to see their mark come again,(but pull out some loot Mkay?).Your code is expensive.

 

There will be an 05 Z06... my sources tell me ;)