2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | First Drive | Driving.ca

#CorvetteZ06 #sportscar #trackreview

Thank you well it is a rainy day here in the woods outside of pittsburgh pennsylvania and i am in the one the c8 corvette z06 or z06 for our fellow canadians this is basically as good as naturally aspirated corvettes are ever going to get now this car is really all about the engine if you’re interested in the full review of the c8 the regular corvette we did do

That a couple months ago and the link for that should be in the description down below needless to say we’re very impressed with the c8 as a product so what happens with that car when we add 175 horsepower and add no turbos or superchargers in the process that’s right this is a 5.5 liter flat plane crank naturally aspirated high winding v8 it makes 670 horsepower

At 8400 rpm for those keeping score at home that’s more horsepower per liter than a 2-liter honda s2000 and it makes peak power at a higher red line than the fabled s2000 this engine is bananas torque is 4 00 pm which is pretty good considering what this engine is now this is the z06 with the z07 package and that means it has big bad carbon ceramic brakes it

Also has the carbon aero package what that gets you are dive planes on the front a big wing out the back now the red car you’re looking at has carbon fiber wheels which save 41 pounds on the car that’s ten and a quarter pounds per corner and gm says that’s worth a second and a half on a two minute lap of their test track let’s put it in d and hit the road it is

Rainy but i’ll do my best to show you guys what this car sounds like and what it feels like so this car is obviously dominated by the engine and you can tell that when you start driving it i’m in currently sport mode which is the middle there’s sport there’s touring and there’s track and then there’s some wet weather modes for driving and snow and stuff but of

The regular driving modes this is the middle ground and it’s my favorite track is very good we did have this car on the racetrack what does it feel like on the racetrack well i can tell you that it feels intense there’s a lot happening and there’s a ton of noise you can hear this engine working the grip is incredible this doesn’t feel like any corvette i have ever

Driven ever it is a quantum leap ahead of anything that has ever been on a race track for corvettes it’s pretty awesome and also the speed 670 horsepower and roughly 3 500 pounds curb weight is not anything to scoff at but as you can hear there’s a lot happening there’s a lot of tire noise it has a lot of engine noise there’s a lot of induction noise there’s just

A lot of car happening in this thing at all times so now we’re in tour this is the most relaxed version it has to be fair the suspension ride remains excellent this car does ride amazing for what it is but everything else that goes along with being comfortable on the road is less great lots of induction noise lots of tire noise lots of exhaust noise virtues from

The c8 on a comfort level are still present here you still that’s great visibility you still have those great ergonomics you still have this driver focus cockpit all that carries over from these standard stingray c8 now the thing is when you put it in sport mode you hear more of that engine and it’s intoxicating you want to rev it out to the red line but it’s so

Far away i’m currently in fifth gear at 50 miles an hour and it wants to rev this engine but the reason gm made a flat plane crank so large at five and a half liters and so that this car has usable mid-range what that means is that you don’t have to triple down shift to pass the end result is that this thing drives like nothing else you can buy new go ahead and try

Try to find a flat plane crank naturally aspirated v8 mid engine car i’ll wait that’s because it’s the most powerful naturally aspirated v8 ever made in any car ever not only that i’m going to personally say that i think this is the most powerful naturally aspirated engine you can buy under a million dollars foreign stingray was a car that begged to be driven i

Love that that car had a playful nature it wanted to be thrown around corners and what’s basically happened is it’s the same playful nature with even higher capabilities in this time an engine that’s absolutely willing to party unfortunately some of the road manners did get lost in the process with 270 section front tires and 345 rears there is some tram lining in

Display here and it does like to follow the grooves especially on a wet day today like when the grooves have some water in them you can feel it following the road a little more than you could with these standard stingray but i can’t stress this enough all else is forgiven with this car on a race track if you have the means to take one of these on a race track that

Is its natural environment and it feels as right as rain and you might think 670 horsepower in a rear drive car on a damn day sounds a little bit scary however on the track this car actually builds trust it builds comp difference you can lean on it you learn to trust the grip to trust the brakes and that’s what i think is the calling card of this car is that yes

It’s immensely capable but it’s also very approachable corvettes haven’t always been approachable in the upper limits for example hey corvette check that guy out it’s a c3 that is a 76. however the c7 z06 was a bit of an ax murderer on the racetrack not so here this thing hooks up it books and it’s just endlessly fun to drive on a racetrack i let it have it here

I’m not sure nope part of the reason that this car is so confidence in spying on the track is the unseen forces of aerodynamics this car has had aerodynamic optimization like no other corvette before it makes less drag and more downforce than the outgoing c7 z06 and at the same speed it makes more downforce than the previous big bad high wing zr1 so even though

This car doesn’t look as crazy it makes every bit the same amount of downforce it’s a smart car part of that are the die planes on the front part of that is the rear wing part of that our underbody strikes that guide the air and now those are optional with the z07 package foreign cars may be faster in the future we frankly know that the unannounced corvette zr1

Will be a lot faster than this but they’re not going to be the same and for that reason i think that this is a high water mark in corvette design a perfect farewell to the naturally aspirated v8 corvette i hope i’m wrong but if i’m not what a great way to send it out on for driving.ca i’m clayton simpson for more corvette reviews and information don’t forget to

Check out our website at driving.ca where you will find my full written article about this car with even more nerdy detail foreign

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2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | First Drive | Driving.ca By Driving.ca