Launched
Wheels Magazine 
May, 2007
It's usually a mistake to launch a road car on the racetrack. Standard tyres, even on high pressures, squeal hysterically and can be destroyed in just a few hot laps.
One of remarkably few exceptions is the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. You have to remind yourself it has number plates and can be driven to Coles. It would have been good to see triple figures on the speedo starting with '2' (either on the dial or the green head-up display), and a gear higher than fourth, but the straight at Willowbank Raceway is kinda abbreviated.
With apologies to Porsche, I can't imagine any other $240K sports car that could stay with the Z06. It seems General Motors has finally decided to showcase its talent to the world, in similar shades of the Ford GT40 in the '60s.
The Goodyear Eagle F1s were better than most tyres, and I was only conscious of bodyroll courtesy of lensman Klynsmith being thrown in my direction, or towards the windscreen under braking (which I couldn't fault). Pedal feel was perfect and unchanged after 10 laps, too, thanks to 356mm front discs gripped by six-piston calipers.
There is a slight tendency to understeer on a circuit, but the Z06 turns in more eagerly than any production car in my recent memory, thanks in part to the wheel/tyre package. Fronts are 18s; rears 19s. Steering response is wonderfully quick - gas the Z06 up too hard through a tight corner and the tail will naturally express itself, but correction is an easy reflex. This doesn't feel like a road car, even at eight-and-a-half tenths, which means it must be blisteringly talented.
The Z06 differs from lesser 'Vettes in myriad ways. It has an aluminium body structure with hydroformed aluminium members, the wider front guards are carbon composites, and the cabin floor melds carbonfibre skins with balsa wood. In addition, a magnesium cradle provides the attachment point for the engine and some suspension bits, while the battery is now in the boot.
The result? A better-balanced car, weighing just 1420kg, fully loaded with the kit you'd expect, and 377kW and 637Nm, driving the rears through a six-speed manual 'box. Consider other details, too: titanium connecting rods in Chev's largest-ever small block; 0-100km/h in 3.7sec; standing 400m in 11.7sec; Nürburgring lap time of 7m43sec. Plus a top speed of 319km/h, which should move you up the grid a bit.
To comment on this article click here