2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 tested
The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is a wild machine capable of upsetting the supercar status quo.
Luxury
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Like a tiramisu trough at an all-you-can-eat Las Vegas buffet, there’s an Italian element to this distinctly American experience.
Chevrolet’s Corvette Z06 takes inspiration from the finest European supercars – machines like the Ferrari 458 Italia, which placed a high-revving V8 engine behind the driver, powering the rear wheels through a snappy dual-clutch automatic transmission.
That’s exactly what you get in the new Corvette, a car that trades a lazy lump of V8 upfront for a sophisticated screamer behind your shoulder blades. Shut your eyes and the tortured howl from its quad exhausts at 200+kmh could be from an Italian exotic.
Of course, doing so isn’t advisable.
But you almost want to turn the volume down on other senses to focus on the frenzied, soaring, ever so slightly serrated song of the Corvette.
That 5.5-litre V8 is an epic thing when wrung out to its full potential, where it makes a stirring 475kW and 595Nm of torque.
It doesn’t feel as fast as turbocharged rivals from McLaren or Ferrari, because it isn’t.
But that’s not the point – this is intended to be a raw and raucous experience, not just a technical achievement.
All the ingredients are in place to create something special – particularly if you opt for lightweight carbon fibre wheels and carbon aero elements that ramp up its ability.
Doing so is a bold move, as it pushes the Z06’s price well beyond $336,000 plus on-road costs, perilously close to $500,000 drive-away.
At this point it’s less like a “poor man’s Ferrari” – and more like a peer alternative to Italian exotica.
Which takes some of the shine off its appeal.
In its homeland, the Corvette Z06 starts from $US112,100 ($166,000) so there’s clearly no small amount of profit built into the Australian operation.
Then again, I’m not sure that the Corvette customer wants to be seen in a Lambo, Ferrari or Maserati.
The Chevy’s blue collar roots might be easier to reconcile in the company carpark.
Better to make friends with cashed up track addicts and coo over the Corvette’s on-board video camera and data logging system, incredibly sophisticated traction and stability control, and multi-mode suspension capable of adapting to different surfaces.
Chat about how the immense carbon ceramic brakes stop the car with confidence, and supercar-spec Michelin rubber finds uncanny traction once warm.
The Z06 feels razor-sharp compared to lesser Corvette models, with ferocious front-end bite that results in immensely satisfying precision for the driver.
Sure, the engine is the highlight. But more impressive is the way it all comes together.
There’s real finesse to the Z06, which is a magnificently honed supercar in the finest tradition. Yes, it has a hell of an engine.
But there’s much more to the Z06 than that. Forget the analogy about cheap buffet dessert. This car is much better than that.
One more, with eeling
The Corvette Z06 is an amazing car. But it’s not the quiet car in Chevy showrooms.
That honour goes to the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, a hybrid machine that combines a front-mounted electric motor with a mid-mounted 6.2-litre V8.
The petrol engine is way less exotic than what you find in the Z06.
Forget about screaming exotics, this is more like the motor in an HSV Maloo Ute.
That means it has a classic V8 soundtrack, but makes less power than the smaller motor in the Z06.
But this car makes up the difference – and then some – with an electric motor on the front axle that returns combined figures of 488kW and 806Nm.
Those are big numbers.
The result in an official 0-100km/h claim of 2.9 seconds, though the Corvette’s on board timing system suggests it is even faster at about 2.4 seconds, thanks to all wheel drive traction.
The E-Ray promises to be easier faster away from the lights, easier to live with in the real world, and $60,000 cheaper than the Z06 at $275,000 plus on-roads.
But our test drive took place on the track, where the Z06 has its measure.
That’s because the E-Ray’s electric advantage comes from a tiny battery that runs out of puff rather quickly.
You get an initial surfer of acceleration out of corners that soon subsides – it feels as though the car is suddenly driving up a steep hill or towing a trailer.
An electric eel without its zap just isn’t as potent. It’s also heavier than the most exotic Corvette, with a less aggressive steering and suspension setup that makes it feel more like a blunt butter knife than the razor sharp Z06. That’s not to say the E-Ray is a bad car.
Not at all.
We haven’t tried it on the road, but my impression is that its relaxed suspension would be a better fit for Australian roads than the track-honed Z06, and that its less peaky V8 would work better in the real world.
The hybrid system is a better fit for public roads too – after all, the drop-off in hybrid thrust happens at the sort of speeds where police will cut up your licence on the spot.
I’m sure it’s just fine on the street. But if you want to go to the track, the Z06 is the Corvette to have.
Originally published as 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 tested
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