NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: Corvette Z06 Convertible

We’ve seen the new Corvette Stingray coupe and convertible and the hotter Corvette Z06 coupe, and now Chevrolet has revealed the Z06 convertible before its world public premiere in New York this Wednesday (April 16).

Unsurprisingly, Chevrolet’s most powerful production convertible ever remains a left-hand drive model and comes with the same 465kW supercharged 6.2-litre V8 as the Z06 coupe revealed at the Detroit show in January.

However, it’s the first widely available Z06 convertible, with just one soft-top Z06 produced in 1963, when the first 199 examples of the Z06 were built for endurance racing.

Lower and wider than the Corvette Stingray, both the drop-top and fixed-roof versions of the 2015 Corvette Z06 wear bumpers that are 56mm wider at the front and 80mm wider at the rear, where the same tail-lights are pushed about 75mm further apart towards the edges of the body.

It’s a case of form following function for the larger, mesh-patterned grille, however, which was designed to increase airflow for the supercharger’s intercooler heat exchanger.

However, the rear side air intakes that cool the Z06 coupe’s differential and transmission cooler were removed from the roofless Z06, whose powered soft-top replaces the rear quarter panels.

The hottest open-top version of the new Corvette is otherwise identical to the Z06 coupe. The coupe’s aluminium chassis is already 20 per cent stiffer than the C6 Z06, negating the need for structural changes to the convertible.

With minimal weight gains in the transformation from coupe to convertible, chassis tuning is unchanged and the topless Z06 comes with the same track-focused Michelin Sport Cup 2 tyres and Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes options, as well as three different aerodynamic packages.

As with the coupe, seven-speed manual and eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmissions are available and the Z06 convertible rides on 19-inch front and 20-incvh rear wheels.

“The Z06 Convertible is a world-class supercar in every sense,” said Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice-president of Global Product Development.

“Only a handful of convertibles in the world bring more than 600 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. Even fewer can match the advanced technologies, aerodynamic design, and visceral driving experience of the Z06 Convertible.”

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