Is this old news? On the AutoWeek website today.

"Only the coupe will debut in Detroit. The convertible will be shown later in the year, and the Z06 will be a 2006 model-year item. Hill said it will differ more from the C6 on which it is based than today’s Z06 is from the C5, and talk of 500 hp is widespread. Thanks to the existence of the Cadillac XLR for the luxury touring car crowd, Corvette engineers will be free to concentrate on the performance side of the equation. It’s looking like an exciting time for Corvette fans."

This should be fun on the wait! There will even be a decent challenger to the '06 Z06 in 2006 in the form of the '06 Cobra. Ford's SVT department claims they are going "high-end" with the '06 Cobra, yet still keep it affordable. Guaranteed minimum of 500 rwhp for the Cobra (as is for the next generation Lightning) are also floating around the rumor mill.

RE: Guaranteed minimum of 500 rwhp for the Cobra (as is for the next generation Lightning)

I think that is flywheel horsepower.

Here's a quote from Bob himself:

Q:You did the Viper during your stint at Chrysler, and now Neil Hannemann, who led the Viper team, is doing the GT at Ford. Does GM need a Viper/GT class vehicle, or is the Corvette strong enough to handle that role?

A:Let me tell you that the Corvette C6 will have versions where we confidently predict it will suck the doors off of both the cars that you just named. The current Z06, with 400 horsepower, on the Gingerman Raceway, laps faster with its 400 horsepower than the new Viper does with 500. So other than just brutal straightline acceleration, the Z06 is faster today. Clearly the C6 Corvette, without giving anything away, is going to be a major step forward in vehicle mass, dimensions, handling, braking and, most important of all, power-to-weight ratio. So I think whatever gap exists now is going to be eliminated — in total performance. I think we'll match the competition in acceleration, and we will beat them in on-road handling. And if the Z06 version of the C6 is not enough to do it, we've got a few tricks up our sleeve, which we're already investigating. But it will always be Corvette-based.

I really don't think we will ever see 700+hp out of any of the cars mention so far that's from the factory. The new Viper will have around 600hp though, and the Viper and GT already has VERY close performance numbers. But 700hp, and certain people will try to stop that from happening if you know what I mean.

GM HAS to up the C6 and Z06 anyways because Ford is looking to bump up the SVT Cobra to around 550hp or they are rumored to anyways. And even the Mustang GT is to have around 300-350hp.

RE: Guaranteed minimum of 500 rwhp for the Cobra (as is for the next generation Lightning)


I think that is flywheel horsepower.