2001 Corvette Z06
Tuesday, October 31st, 2006
The Corvette Z06 is said to be an exciting vehicle to drive. The power that the LS6 engine develops is ferocious. Floor the accelerator and it will feel like an elephant just sat on your chest, while the suspension keeps you planted on the road seemingly disobeying the laws of physics. Stomp on the brakes from any speed and it will feel like that same elephant just grabbed your rear bumper as you went by and didn’t let go.
There are a few other cars that have this kind of balanced performance, the Porsche Turbo as well as the BMW Z8 and a couple of the higher priced Ferrari’s, but you’ll pay at least twice the price for the privilege of snubbing your nose at the Chevy nameplate. If you want ferocious and competent on the affordable side of $50,000, this is the only car in town. Even when compared with the $70,000 Viper, this Vette can hold its own. Sure the Viper with 450 HP will take it off the line, but not by much, and the Z06 is better balanced and easier to drive.
Unlike other Corvettes, the Z06 is strictly a performance car with few amenities. It is built on the new coupe body for its lower weight and has a fixed top that is not removable. Inside the cockpit, you sit very low and need to be somewhat limber to gracefully get in or out. The seats are comfortable and hold you in place. Sit in an earlier Corvette and you knew that you were in a Vette. The style, character and flair of the past Corvette interiors was unmistakable. With the current version, sitting behind the wheel, you could easily mistake it for a Camaro.
Despite the race-tuned engine, the Z06 was quite easy to drive at low speed. The LS6 engine is smooth and pulles easily even from below 1000 rpm. Another incongruity was is that this car has excellent gas mileage (as long as you drove it like a normal, sane person) with an EPA rating of 19 mpg city & 28 hwy. Not something that you find every day in a car with half this performance.
Another surprising fact is that this is not one of those new engines that relies on dual overhead cams, variable valve timing or four valves per cylinder. No, this engine has a single camshaft in the center of the block pushing 2 valves per cylinder through pushrods and rocker arms, just like the original Chevy V8 back in 1955. Don’t get me wrong, this is a high-tech engine to be sure with an aluminum block with cast in “windows” which allow better bay-to-bay breathing. Chevy engineers have also incorporated a new composite intake manifold with increased plenum volume and smoother-flowing intake runners. Dozens of other refinements come together to increase volumetric efficiency and maximum rpm.
The Z06 features a new Titanium Exhaust System which is a first for a mass-production vehicle. This new exhaust system reduces back-pressure and weighs only half as much as the stainless steel system found in other Vettes. It looks better too with four 3.5-inch diameter chrome tips peeking out from the center of the rear bumper. I am told that much time was spent tailoring this system to ensure an exhaust note that would be unique to the Z06.
This is a thinly disguised race car that is equally at home on the racetrack. With its well-balanced acceleration, braking and cornering, many buyers will use it for just that, a race car that doesn’t need a trailer to get it to and from the track. The Z06 has a power to weight ratio of just 8.13 pounds per horsepower which is better then the 1999 Porsche GT3 (8.26), the 2000 Porsche Turbo (8.19), the 2000 Ferrari Modena (8.21) and even the ‘95 Corvette ZR1 (8.73).
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