[Photos] First Look at the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06
The wraps have just come off the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06, and we don’t think it’s too early to claim it may be the most thrilling Corvette yet. Designed with a heavy focus on track performance, the Z06 looks, sounds, and goes like an exotic European sports car, except it has a naturally-aspirated V8 under the hood and the substantial interior room Americans require.
Yes, you read that right. In today’s world of turbochargers and hybrids, the Corvette Z06 is naturally aspirated. It revs all the way to 8,600 rpm, making 670 horsepower along the way—that’s 20 more horses than the previous Z06’s supercharged V8.
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Not only is the new Z06 as rev-happy as they come, it’s unbelievably fast. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in only 2.6 seconds and has much in common with the C8.R race car, which was the first Corvette to use the 5.5-liter LT6 engine under the hood. According to chief engineer Tadge Juechter, Chevrolet had previously believed they had reached their limit with natural aspiration. But that turned out to be wrong. “This time we started with a blank sheet of paper,” Juechter said. “This car is more blank sheet of paper than we’ve ever done for a Z06.”
Compared to the regular model, the Z06 is wider and more aerodynamic. It has unique front and rear fascias designed to optimize cooling, enormous rear tires, a configurable rear spoiler, available carbon fiber wheels, and a tuned eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with a shorter final drive ratio intended to maximize acceleration.
The car will also be offered with a Z07 performance package that turns the Z06 from a track-inspired street car to a bonafide racer, one generating 734 pounds of downforce at 186 mph, the highest of any Corvette in history. It will also have Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, a carbon fiber rear wing, ground effects, and various other performance tweaks all adding up to 1.22 g of cornering capability on a skid pad.
Pricing and top speed have yet to be announced, but officials did state we could expect a similar price difference between the regular model and the Z06 as in previous generations. That means the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 will likely start at above $85,000.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.