One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost

It may be slower and less exotic, but the Stingray is the better value.

By Brett Foote - February 14, 2023
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost
One Person Thinks the C8 Z06 Isn't Worth the Cost

Great Value?

With a starting price north of $100k - and loaded examples going for 50 percent or more of that, without markups applied - there's no denying that the 2023 Corvette Z06 is a pretty expensive vehicle, even though you're getting a lot for that money. Regardless, as great as the new Z06 is, it doesn't look like quite as good a value when we compare it to its little brother - the regular old C8 Stingray, as YouTuber Rob Ferretti behind the channel superspeedersrob recently explained in this video.

More Money, Same Looks?

At the moment - especially with massive markups flying around - the Z06 costs tens of thousands of dollars more than the Stingray, which has been around for a few years now and has been produced in far higher quantities as a result. On top of that, as Ferretti notes, he doesn't believe that the Z06 looks different enough from the base car to justify this massive price gap, either.

Trim Level Treatment

In all fairness, Ferretti's Z06 doesn't have the optional Z06 Performance Package, so it isn't equipped with the giant rear wing and carbon fiber wheels - things that help differentiate it from the Stingray even further, along with its wider body and other styling updates. Regardless, our host believes that GM treated the car more like a trim level than its own, unique variant.

Getting It Wrong

Ferretti doesn't deny that the Z06 is a special machine in terms of its performance, but at the same time, he feels like GM should have treated the C8 Z06 like its predecessors, giving it more distinctive styling that makes it easy to pick one out from a crowd of Corvettes. He then proceeds to go through the many styling differences on these cars to prove his point.

Dollar for Dollar

Obviously, Ferretti isn't saying that the new Z06 isn't worth the money - at MSRP, it's a fantastic performance car value. However, when the price goes up to $250k or even past the $300k mark - which is what some people are getting via the secondary market - it's hard to justify what you're getting for that massive outlay of cash.

Close Shave

While it has a glorious engine that sounds amazing and propels this car from 0-60 in 2.6 seconds, the Stingray isn't too far behind in terms of straight-line performance at 2.8 or so seconds, and it's great on the track, too. Considering the fact that you can actually find them at MSRP in the $60k range, well, it's just hard to justify paying two, three, or even four or more times that price for something a bit more exotic.

Good for Some

Obviously, this won't matter to a lot of people that simply want the best Corvette they can possibly buy, and the Z06 is certainly that. But for those that don't have a massive amount of disposable income, the Stingray is clearly the far better value here - giving us a whole heck of a lot of car for the money.

>>Join the conversation about the C8 Z06 right here at CorvetteForum.com.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our How-to section in the forum.

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