Salvaged Corvette Z06 Takes on Pike's Peak (photos)
Most people walk away from a used car deal when they hear the word "salvaged," but Robb Holland found the kind of salvaged Corvette Z06 that you thought only existed in fairy tales. Then, he raced it up Pikes Peak.
1. Robb Holland
Robb Holland is a race car driver from Denver, CO, most famous for being the first American to compete full-time in the British Touring Car Championship. In the 2014 race season he races every race for Rotek Racing, driving an Audi S3. He was also the first American race car driver to race in the World Touring Car Championship when he was called as a last minute replacement at Sonoma to drive the Chevy Cruze of Bamboo Engineering. RObb is a sponsored driver, and had raced at Pikes Peak before, but this year the Rotek Racing Audi TTS he was supposed to race sudden't was not available. Not racing at Pike's Peak wasn't an option, as he already had a contract with a sponsor.
2. Pike's Peak Hill Climb
The Broadmoor Pikes Peak Hill Climb is one of the oldest motorsports events in America, and is has only gotten slightly less dangerous since they paved the whole road a few years ago. Over the course of 12.5 miles, the road takes more than 150 turns, and climbs nearly a mile into the mountains, to where the finish line is located at the 14,110 ft summit. Cars and drivers have been racing to the top since 1916, with solid rock on one side, and a sheer drop on the other. The rarefied air not only saps power from the engine, even those with force induction, but limits the downforce from your wings and spoilers. Drivers also get very little practice time to learn the course, making this one of the singularly most difficult races to do well in.
3. Salvage Shopping
Desperate for a car, with the race just about 90 days away, Robb went shopping. Thanks to a dealer friend, they trolled the salvage car wholesale auction sites, for insurance buy backs and total loss vehicles. The short list of cars he wanted for the hill climb, because of their huge power and predicable handling, included the Dodge Viper, Porsche 911 Turbo, Mustang GT350R, BMW M2, or Chevy Corvette Z06. As luck would have it, a dealer in Washington State had just had an incident where a lot attendant drove a Corvette into a ditch, causing the airbags to deploy, some body panels to get crunched, and the insurance company to total it out.
4. Initial Condition
Having bought the car based on a phone call, and internet pictures, its arrival in Denver was eagerly awaited via truck. A close inspection of the car revealed the damage was all cosmetic for the most part, with no hard parts bent or broken. The Z06 still had the plastic wraps around the seats, and the odometer had just 9 miles on it. Though officially totalled, and therefor without a title for street use, all it took was approximately $2,500, not including paint, to make it all right again!
5. Race Car In Progress
Straight from the truck and even with the current damage, Robb Holland sees tremendous potential already in the supercharged Z06, based on a track day drive. The salvaged 2017 Corvette Z06 is now being prepared for Pike's Peak, and the first step is taking it completely apart at NRG Motorsports shop to prepare it for its new roll cage. Working against the deadline, the Z06 will receive professional tuning from Corvette experts, to help make it handle even better, as well as make it more powerful and lighter in weight.
Check out Rob Holland's article HERE on Jalopnik, and follow along as he gets ready for the race.
For help with service and modding your car, check out the how to section of CorvetteForum.com