Car Evolution: 2006 Corvette Z06

Fastest, most powerful Corvette ever

The Corvette Z06 is the fastest, most powerful production Corvette ever built as well as the fastest, most powerful production car ever offered by General Motors. Its LS7 V8 engine achieves 512 horsepower (377 kW) at 6300 rpm, delivering the 1423 kg Z06 a 0-100 km/h performance of 3,9 seconds and a top speed of 319 km/h.

The Z06 model is a Corvette for the extreme performance enthusiast, combining the numerous attributes of the sixth-generation Corvette with the technology and winning determination from the Corvette racing program to take the Z06 to the next level in total performance. It is the fastest, most powerful car ever offered by General Motors.

"The Z06 is the dividend from competing so successfully in endurance racing," said Dave Hill, Corvette's chief engineer. "It combines the strong attributes of the sixth-generation Corvette with the spirit, technology and know-how from the race program to form an American supercar with outstanding credentials."

The Corvette racing program has been a story of domination. In the 2004 season, the Corvette C5-R racing team won every race they started, wrapping up the most successful era in Corvette's 50-year racing history. In its five years, the C5-R racing program took 35 victories in 55 races, four American Le Mans Series championships and three double victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Corvette Racing made history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scoring its fourth 1-2 finish in the GT1 class in five years time with the new Corvette C6.R.

The phrase "technology transfer" has never been more appropriate than when used to describe the matched set of Corvette C6.R and Corvette Z06. Lessons learned on the track have benefited the Z06, just as GM's vast resources have enriched the C6.R race car. Both cars are powered by 7-liter small-block V-8 engines with dry-sump lubrication systems, CNC-ported aluminium cylinder heads, titanium valves and connecting rods, forged steel crankshafts, and deck-plate honing of the cylinders. While the components and specifications of the street and competition engines are tailored to their specific environments, the thought process behind them is identical.

LS7: the most powerful passenger GM engine, ever

The engine of the Z06 delivers 377 kW (512 horsepower) at 6300 rpm and 637 Nm of torque at 4800 rpm, in an approximately 1423 kg package. That adds up to 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3,9 seconds, covering a standing-start quarter-mile in less than 12 seconds and delivering a top speed of 319 km/h on a race track. The engine is also designed to rev to an unprecedented 7000 rpm limit.

Unlike the previous 427 engine, which was a big-block design, the 7.0-liter LS7 is a small-block V-8, the largest-displacement small-block ever produced by GM and a tribute to its 50 years as a performance icon. The LS7 is easily identified under the hood by red engine covers with black lettering.

One of the clearest examples of the LS7's race-bred technology is its use of titanium connecting rods. They weigh just 480 grams a piece, almost 30 percent less than the rods in the LS2 V-8. Besides being lightweight, which enhances high-rpm performance and rpm range, titanium makes the rods extremely durable. The LS7's specifications also include a forged steel crankshaft; forged aluminium flat-top pistons; racing-derived CNC-ported aluminium cylinder heads with titanium intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves and titanium pushrods and valve springs.

Dry-sump lubrication system

The LS7 has a dry-sump lubrication system designed to keep the engine fully lubricated during the high cornering loads the Corvette Z06 is capable of producing. An engine compartment-mounted reservoir delivers oil at a constant pressure to an oil pump pick-up at the bottom of the engine. The pressurized oil feed keeps the oil pick-up continually immersed in oil at cornering loads exceeding 1 g.

The LS7's dry-sump system was developed and tested on racetracks in the United States and Europe, including Germany's famed N�rburgring. While common in racing cars, the Corvette Z06 is one of just a handful of production vehicles - and the only production Corvette - to ever incorporate such a high-performance lubrication system.

All LS7 engines are assembled by hand at GM Powertrain's Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan. The exacting standards to which they are built include deck-plate honing of the cylinders - a procedure normally associated with the building of racing engines and almost unheard of in a production-vehicle engine.

At the rear of the LS7 engine, a single-mass flywheel and lightweight, high-capacity clutch channel torque to the rear transaxle. The six-speed manual transmission has been strengthened to handle the LS7's increased torque load. The transmission includes a pump which sends transmission fluid to the front radiator for cooling. Upon its return, the fluid removes additional heat from the differential before returning to the transmission. The M6 transmission connects to a limited-slip differential, with enlarged ring and pinion gears. Stronger axle half-shafts with tougher universal joints transmit power to the rear wheels.

The links between racing and the production Z06 are both direct and indirect, but they boil down to the application of lessons that could only have been learned after countless laps of endurance racing - everything from suspension geometry to aerodynamics. What the engineers developed was a totally unique vehicle that has its own powertrain, body structure and chassis system which are distinct from other Corvette models.

Unique body structure

The Z06 has a unique aluminium body structure for optimum stiffness and light weight for the fixed-roof body-style. Perimeter rails are one-piece hydroformed members featuring cast suspension nodes, which replace many welded steel components on other Corvette models. Other castings, stampings and extrusions are combined into the innovative structure with state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies. Advanced structural composites featuring carbon fiber are bonded to the aluminium structure. Wider front wheelhouses, for example, are carbon composites and the passenger compartment floors combine carbon-fiber skins with an ultra-lightweight balsa wood core.

The Z06 retains the 2686-mm wheelbase of other Corvette models, as well as the short-long arm suspension and transverse leaf spring design, but it rides on all-new wheels, tires, brakes, as well as its own rear spring and roll stabilizer. The firmer suspension works harmoniously with large 18 x 9.5-inch cast-spun aluminium wheels and 275/35ZR18 tires in the front, and 19 x 12-inch cast-spun aluminium wheels with 325/30ZR19 tires in the rear - the largest wheel-and-tire combination ever offered on a Corvette. The tires use the latest extended-mobility technology from Goodyear to provide a satisfactory ride, but still allow the vehicle to achieve lateral acceleration of more than 1 g.

Expressive design

Like the sixth generation Corvette, the Z06 model's styling combines classic cues with an expressive new design featuring the classic 'egg crate' grille, and exposed HID Xenon, which additionally offer the advantages of lower weight, less complexity and superior lighting performance.

The Z06 has an unmistakable and aggressive appearance, with design cues that include a wide front fascia with a large, forward-facing grille opening, a splitter along the bottom and "Gurney lips" along the sides to provide aerodynamic downforce. A cold air scoop in front of the hood is integrated with the air inlet system for the engine, while the trailing edge of the front wheel opening is radiused to achieve improved drag, but protects the body finish with a tough molding, and a large air extractor is located behind the wheel. Wider rear fenders with flares cover the massive rear tires and a brake cooling scoop in front of the wheels visually balances the fender extractor, while a tall rear spoiler houses the central high mounted stop light on the top of the rear deck.

The aerodynamics of the Z06's exterior were shaped by the experiences of the Corvette racing program, where high-speed stability and cornering capability are paramount. And while the racecars use large rear wings, the Z06's elevated spoiler provides sufficient downforce to balance the road-worthy front splitter without adversely affecting aerodynamic drag. The Z06's Cd is 0.31. Other visual identifiers for the Z06 include 10-spoke wheels and four larger stainless steel exhaust outlets.

Uncompromising amenities

For all its race-inspired functionality, the Z06 is designed to be a daily drivable high-performance vehicle. To that end, comfort and convenience are held to a very high standard. HID lighting, fog lamps, leather seating, dual-zone air conditioning, cabin air filtration and Head-Up Display (HUD) with track mode and g-meter are standard.

The Z06 also has a revised gauge cluster that displays the Z06 logo on the 7000-redline tachometer and has a new readout on the oil pressure gauge to reflect the higher standard pressure of the dry-sump oiling system. Like other 2006 Corvettes, the Z06 has a smaller-diameter three-spoke steering wheel that provides a more agile, performance-oriented feel. The seats feature two-tone leathering surfaces, with Z06-logo embroidery and contrasting stitching. Z06 features include a Bose audio system with an in-dash six-CD changer, polished wheels, a telescoping steering wheel, heated seats, side airbags and a navigation system with GPS.

For all its comfort, engineers did sacrifice a few features in the quest for lower weight and higher performance of Z06. The seats' side bolsters are fixed and more aggressively shaped to better hold the driver when cornering and they weigh less than standard-model seats. The passenger seat uses manual controls, saving the weight of a power-adjust motor, while the acoustic package is revised to reduce weight and allow more aural feedback of the powertrain.

Corvette Z06 will be built at General Motors' Bowling Green, Kentucky, Assembly Plant.

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