Chevrolet Corvette Z06 visits its favourite shoe factory

Australia’s first right-hand drive Chevrolet Corvette Z06 this week made an impromptu visit to Carbon Revolution in Geelong – the very facility where its optional carbon-fibre wheels were designed and manufactured.

The C8 Z06 is already one of the fastest and most capable Corvette variants ever produced and its performance can be amped up even further through the optional fitment of the Z07 Performance Package, which adds beefier carbon-ceramic brakes, carbon-fibre aero components, a more aggressive suspension tune, semi-slick tyres and of course the Australian-made carbon wheels.

Measuring 20 inches up front and 21 inches at the rear, Chevrolet says the five-spoke carbon hoops save more than 18kg in upsprung mass and can shave more than a second off a two-minute lap time compared to the standard forged alloys – before the rest of the Z07 Performance upgrades are factored in.

“The Carbon Revolution wheel is a testament to the talent of Australian engineers who have been able to design and manufacture one of the world’s most complex carbon fibre products,” said GMSV director Greg Rowe.

“Their carbon fibre wheel provides enhanced performance of the Z06 thanks to a weight saving advantage and also complements the overall appearance of the new model.”

However, the Z06 won’t be the only Corvette offered with the ultra-lightweight Aussie-made carbon wheels. They’ll also be available for the upcoming Corvette E-Ray hybrid after its launches globally further down the track.

Carbon Revolution CEO Jake Dingle said the Z06’s visit was a well-earned opportunity for staff to “see the fruits” of their labour as part of a production-ready package.

“Our team is extremely proud of the wheel – it genuinely enhances the Z06’s performance and it looks superb on the vehicle,” he said.

The C8 Z06 debuted in 2022 with a naturally-aspirated flatplane-crank 5.5-litre V8 developing 500kW/623Nm and capable of revving to 8600rpm.

Now, however, it seems Australian-delivered examples – due here by Christmas – will have their outputs watered down compared to their US counterparts due to a more restrictive exhaust system and the presence of a petrol particulate filter, as per European versions.

If that’s the case, local Z06s will probably develop ‘only’ 474kW/595Nm, marking a factory nobbling of 26kW/28Nm, which should be enough to notice side-by-side or back-to-back.

In addition, Australia’s allocation of Z06 customer cars could be even more exclusive than first thought, with some dealer sources telling carsales the American supercar may be limited to just one vehicle per state or territory, and that owners could be selected via a lottery.

We asked GMSV about both supplies and output reductions for the Z06 locally, and it said only that information about “pricing and allocation, as well as power and torque figures” would be released “later this year”.

Limited numbers and watered-down outputs aside, the Z06 is poised to become the most expensive General Motors product offered in Australia to date, with an expected entry price of more than $200,000 plus on-road costs.

GMSV has so far delivered about 300 examples of the standard Corvette Stingray coupe and convertible (priced from $145K and powered by a 369kW/673Nm 6.2-litre V8) but demand continues to exceed supply by such an extent that new orders are still taking up to four years to fill.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au