Brother Alex has a murdered-out Corvette Z06. It’s black, it’s loud, and it’s a bad mother. It’s also just reset my benchmark for fast.
When Alex’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 rolled off the assembly line in 2008, it was the fastest car sold by Chevy. Designed as a track-ready sports car, it came with a 7.0L V8 good for 505 hp, improved cooling and oiling, and a widened track that fit extra-wide tires. It was ready to shame the fastest from Europe with blistering lap times, and it often put Ferraris in its rearview mirror.
I was enamored with the C6 Z06 when it was new. It appealed to the bargain hunter in me, delivering a big bang for relatively few bucks; it regularly shames cars of twice the price at racetracks and magazine competitions. However, when the sexy C7 Corvette arrived, everyone—including me—forgot about the C6 and transferred their Corvette lust to the new shiny thing. Alex was the beneficiary of this collective amnesia, picking up his Z06 for less than $40,000.
A reasonable person would find the factory 505 hp more than adequate, but the prior owner must have been an unreasonable fellow. He lavished the engine with every upgrade in the catalog short of forced induction. Reportedly the LS7 makes 600 hp now. While good Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires have been fitted, stickier race-rubber wouldn’t be wasted on this fireball.
Corvettes are built for handling as much as they are built for straight-line speed. Unfortunately for me, Alex lives in Michigan. This means that I don’t get to see him often and that my test drive today will be on straight roads instead of mountain spaghetti. But Alex purchased this car specifically for entertainment on the Midwest checkerboard, and it’s only fair to test it in its intended environment.
A press of the start button ignites the engine. It wakes with a lion’s roar and then settles into a big lopey idle that rocks the car. The hot cams make the idle irregular; it is hard to get the Vette rolling or drive it smoothly under 1,500 rpm. The clutch itself is light and easy, and I find myself slipping it a lot as I negotiate neighborhood stop signs.
Alex tells me the only thing I am not allowed to do is go full throttle in first gear. The tires cannot keep up with the torque. I am already intimidated by the low and loud car, so for the first five minutes, I accelerate with partial throttle and shift by 4,000 rpm. This gives me time to get acquainted with the gearbox. It is a very nice box that feels strong and mechanical when stirred. The throw is longer from fore-to-aft than it is from side-to-side. My shift timing needs adjusting, as I’m not releasing the clutch soon enough, given the way the engine loses revs.
I am also having difficulty acing my rev-matched downshifts. It’s not a problem of reaching both pedals simultaneously—the brake and the gas are as close together as they come—but the engine does not rev as quickly as I expect for my blips. Thinking about it, it makes sense that a big ol’ 7.0l V8 would need more boot to build revs.
For the same reason—displacement—it makes sense that my throttle foot needs to be resensitized. I am lifting off the throttle too quickly and throwing weight abruptly forward. I must not be driving my M3 enough because it too requires careful pedal work to drive smoothly.
It’s time to explore the depths of the throttle and the heights of the rev range. Holy f***! This car is fast! Step hard on the Z06’s gas pedal, and you feel like your barrel just tipped over the edge of Niagara Falls. Acceleration is instantaneous and unrelenting, and it feels like nothing short of hell freezing over could stop your flight. When the go pedal is down, the Z06’s rear tires bore into the pavement, and its nose lifts skyward. Apparently, the car is tempted to blast off into the stratosphere. On imperfect roads (Michigan roads fall into this category), the rear tires tramline under the weight and force of acceleration.
Again and again, I rip through second and third gears. Again and again, I giggle, guffaw, and shake my head in bewildered amazement at the thrust and brassy bellow of the Corvette in flight. I’ve never been in a car which was so frighteningly fast. Experiencing the Nissan GT-R from the passenger’s seat comes closest. The McLaren 570S was fast but free of fear. The Z06 is not supposed to be a drag monster, but that is my impression today. Z06: a monster motor attached to a sled. It is insane you can buy this much speed for $37,000!
One interesting observation is that the Z06 has furious acceleration in spite of its really long gears; the speed builds quicker than the revs. Compared to the Giulia Quadrifoglio, whose acceleration was prematurely snuffed at 6,500 rpm, the Z06 does not feel boxed in by its 7,000 rpm redline because it spends a healthy amount of time in each gear.
Eventually, I pay attention to the Z06’s handling. It has a moderately firm ride but is not choppy or uncomfortable. (It’s yet another vehicle that shames the Focus RS on ride quality.) When traversing rises in the pavement, the Z06 sympathetically rises too. Other sports cars are more hunkered down. Strangely this softness over vertical disruptions is not mirrored by roll or softness in cornering; the Z06 corners quite flatly, even if I slosh around in the seat. I’ve heard that to drive the Z06 fast, you must trust that it has high handling limits rather than being able to feel when you are approaching the limits. This strikes me as true now. The seat gives road feedback, but the steering hardly whispers.
The brakes are firm and reassuring. I even like how they squeal slightly when they are cold. It gives me hope that high-temp pads have been fitted in the calipers.
The performance traction management system is fabulous. I’m driving with the system fully on, and it keeps the tires gripping without intrusively interfering with my fun. In Competitive Driving Mode, I spiked my adrenaline when I spun the tires through second gear, but PTM’s hand was present through it all, and it kept things from deteriorating into a farmyard augering spin.
To my surprise, as a Michigan car—a car that can be fun in the absence of corners—the Z06 completely succeeds. It rewards you with a fine ride and fabulous gearbox, and each dig into the throttle is an assault to the senses that will leave you laughing and quaking. Well done, Alex, on finding the performance bargain of 2017.
Mike's Steering Column 