2015 Corvette Z06: GTR Beware! The High Performance Bargain Benchmark is Back!
On this episode of Ignition presented by Tire Rack
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00:00 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:01 This thing is so fast at speed, and the G-forces are such at
00:06 speed that you have to remember to breathe, you have
00:10 to remember to hold on, and you have to remember where
00:13 you're pointing it.
00:15 It is absolutely insane.
00:19 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:22 The new Corvette Z06 is the most powerful car I've ever
00:26 driven, and it's the most powerful car I've ever driven.
00:29 The Z06 is the most powerful car GM has ever produced, in
00:33 effect, occupying the same space once taken up by the ZR1.
00:38 The performance numbers are hard to believe, but even
00:40 more, you can take the roof off and
00:42 order it as an automatic.
00:44 How is this even possible?
00:57 Here we have the new Corvette Z06, and it looks like it's
01:01 going to be fun.
01:02 Now, of course, we've gone on, and Chevy's gone on about how
01:04 great the eight-speed automatic is.
01:06 But unfortunately, they can only get us a seven-speed
01:07 manual, so that's what we're going to test.
01:10 But what else do we have?
01:11 This is the stage two of three aerodynamic kit, and you can
01:15 see that in bits across the front splitter and parts we'll
01:18 talk about once we get to the side.
01:20 Down here at the front, this is the splitter, of course, but
01:22 you also have these two brake inlets, and those actually
01:25 send cool air over the brakes to help cool them down, which
01:28 is pretty cool.
01:29 All the aerodynamic stuff you see here is
01:31 functional by a large amount.
01:33 Interesting thing, these two guys that you see here,
01:36 they're not a design choice.
01:37 They're there to help pass a pedestrian safety
01:39 standard in Europe.
01:41 That's what they had to do with those little shark's teeth, I
01:43 guess you would call them, coming out there.
01:45 Down here is where we get to the real meat of the car.
01:47 Of course, that's tire meat.
01:49 This is a Z07 package Z06.
01:52 That means it has a bunch of different upgrade
01:53 performance parts.
01:54 Here we have big wheels and tires and
01:56 carbon ceramic brakes.
01:57 The tires themselves are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s,
02:00 and they are really, really sticky.
02:03 There's barely any tread on these guys.
02:05 We've used quite a bit already, but you can see close up.
02:08 There's not much on here.
02:10 Now further back, we have functional side skirt.
02:12 And this guy right here, this cooling feeding duct is pretty
02:16 interesting.
02:16 These feed the diff and some other components
02:19 back in the end.
02:20 It's actually a combination of a NACA duct and a ram air
02:23 effect, because at one point, there's sort of a NACA air
02:26 duct effect happening at one side of it and a ram air
02:28 effect happening at the other.
02:30 This wasn't a design piece.
02:31 They actually made this in the wind tunnel.
02:33 And when they looked at it, when the engineers looked at
02:35 it, they said, that's not going to work.
02:37 What's wrong with this?
02:38 Then they actually tested it and found out it does work,
02:40 and that's why it sits here the way it does.
02:41 This is the supercharged 6.2 liter LT4 V8 that makes 650
02:51 horsepower and 650 pound feet of torque.
02:54 Why is this engine so incredible?
02:56 Well, there's the power and the torque, like I just
02:57 mentioned, but also it's a pushrod engine that has
03:01 cylinder deactivation and direct injection.
03:03 It's amazing, amazing technology.
03:05 Now some of you may be wondering, why aren't they
03:07 doing a quad cam engine and so on and so on.
03:09 Well, when you look at this engine and you realize that
03:12 having the cam in the block and having pushrod means you
03:14 don't have all kinds of crazy valve train to get in the way
03:17 of other things, like a supercharger, it means you can
03:20 keep a really low roof line.
03:22 Having a really compact engine means you can keep a really
03:24 low hood line, and that means you have good visibility, a
03:28 lower puller moment, better weight balance in the car, and
03:31 on and on and on and on.
03:32 The advantages are numerous, and this
03:34 engine is a real treat.
03:35 Interestingly, Chevy originally wanted to do a big
03:38 displacement high revving engine, but couldn't make that
03:41 one hit emissions targets.
03:42 So this is what they ended up going with, and it's looking
03:45 pretty awesome.
03:50 The hardware looks incredible.
03:52 Next, we're going to find out how well it
03:53 does at our test track.
03:54 Launch control makes applying the 650 pound feet on tap at
04:11 3,600 RPM more consistent, but it's ultimately slower.
04:16 Find the right amount of tire chatter with some patience,
04:18 and you'll reach 60 in 3.2 seconds, and the quarter mile
04:23 in 11.3 seconds at 126.2 miles an hour.
04:28 Peak stopping distance, 91 feet from 60 miles an hour,
04:34 remains as absurdly low as the last ZR1, and all stops
04:39 during our testing stay at the same speed.
04:41 The Z06's 22.5 second lap time on the figure eight is the
04:46 fastest we've ever recorded for a production car that
04:49 wasn't the Porsche 918.
04:50 The Porsche 918 was 3/10 of a second faster.
04:55 The Corvette's 1.16 average lateral acceleration is the
04:58 highest we've ever seen from anything
05:00 that wasn't a race car.
05:02 With my own eyes, I can't help but wonder how much faster
05:05 the Corvette is.
05:07 The Corvette's 1.16 average lateral acceleration is the
05:11 highest we've ever seen from anything that wasn't a race car.
05:15 With my right knee and elbow against the tunnel and my left
05:17 against the door, it felt like driving a tilt-a-whirl.
05:20 [CAR ENGINE]
05:36 The car is extraordinarily fast.
05:39 Just listen to that.
05:40 And this is absolutely insane.
05:49 I keep wanting to call it a ZR1 because it reminds me of
05:52 that car in all the good ways, none of the bad ways.
05:55 [CAR ENGINE]
05:59 I still remember the first time I drove a ZR1.
06:02 I hopped on the throttle, I got in the power band, and I
06:05 instantly wanted to evacuate my bowels.
06:07 It was ridiculous and scary and terrifying and exciting
06:11 and all those words.
06:13 And it's so much fun to lay on to the throttle, but it's
06:16 honest, the thing that really impresses me most is the
06:19 cornering forces and the G-forces and the feeling in
06:22 your stomach when you're pressed up against the seat
06:25 back or the sides when you're going
06:27 around a missed corner.
06:29 [CAR ENGINE]
06:32 All you really need to do is think of the Z51 and then turn
06:36 the dial up a lot more.
06:37 [CAR ENGINE]
06:41 As it drives very smoothly, it's very easy to get into
06:44 corners, because it drives very similarly to the Z51
06:48 Corvette, only you're going so much more faster everywhere.
06:54 One of the traits of the ZR1 from last year was fear.
06:58 It was a sketchy car to drive quickly.
07:02 You felt a lot of concern over the rate of speed you'd be
07:06 going through some corners, because it was so, so fast.
07:12 You have that fear.
07:14 This doesn't give you that sense of worry.
07:16 It doesn't, I guess, move around like that
07:18 car would on occasion.
07:19 [CAR ENGINE]
07:21 You can jump in this car, and instead of feeling threatened
07:25 that you're accelerating a red line, you can
07:29 enjoy it more instead.
07:30 [CAR ENGINE]
07:38 First impressions of this thing are pretty,
07:41 pretty, pretty awesome.
07:43 This thing offers a performance value with, so far,
07:48 not many downsides.
07:51 650 horsepower, 650 pound-feet, incredible
07:53 performance for not a ton of money.
07:58 It's kind of nuts.
08:00 [CAR ENGINE]
08:06 Pro racer Randy Popes also joined us to set Hot Laps, but
08:09 of course, he got the car the fastest way you can get it,
08:11 with the Stage 3 Aero package and the automatic.
08:14 [CAR ENGINE]
08:43 [CAR ENGINE]
09:12 [CAR ENGINE]
09:41 [CAR ENGINE]
09:56 After driving it hard, you get out of the Z06 quiet and
09:59 wide-eyed.
10:00 You just experience something serious.
10:03 There's a level of performance here that few other
10:05 production cars have.
10:07 Let alone even know of.
10:09 And those that do have exceedingly
10:11 prohibited price tags.
10:13 [CAR ENGINE]
10:18 This Corvette, $80,000 to start and just over $100,000 as
10:23 tested.
10:24 And with that price comes a clear message to the rest of
10:27 the world.
10:28 Bring it on.
10:29 [CAR ENGINE]
10:35 Just because like, I'm kind of hungry, so I'm going to buy a
10:40 fast food chain.
10:41 [LAUGHTER]
10:43 You know, like, I've got the cold, I'm going to go to the
10:49 emergency room.
10:51 I kind of feel like buying a RC airplane, so I'm going to
10:55 get an FAT.
10:56 You know what I mean?
10:57 Like, it's just so over the top.
11:01 Like, it's awesome.
11:02 It's totally great.
11:03 But like, god damn, it's so much.
11:08 Oh my god.
11:11 And the performance threshold is just off the charts.
11:16 Like--
11:18 [CAR ENGINE]
11:20 [CAR ENGINE]
11:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]