Endowed with more of everything that makes a Corvette yummy, and officially recognized as the fastest and most powerful production car that General Motors has ever produced, the new 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 makes 500 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 475 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm from a 7.0-liter, hand-built, LS7 V8 that is based on the standard Corvette's LS2 6.0-liter motor. That's a smidge more than 427 cubic inches, for all you Oldie Oldersons, and you should also know that the majority of the motor's twist comes online at 1,600 rpm. Whammy, blammy, yowee, zowee!
With a redline north of 7,000 rpm, a six-speed manual transmission, three-inch diameter exhaust pipes, and a curb weight of 3,130 pounds, the 2006 Chevy Corvette Z06 is equipped with plenty of firepower to produce sprints to 60 mph in a blistering 3.7 seconds, making it directly competitive with not only the Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe but a variety of exotic machinery priced well into triple digits. Chevrolet predicts that 100 mph will arrive before the eight-second mark, and that the Z06 will cover the quarter-mile in little more than 11 seconds on the way to a top speed that exceeds 190 mph. A dry-sump oiling system ensures vital fluid flow even at cornering forces exceeding 1 g.
