|
MOTOR TREND
Are you ready for the Z07? The ultimate Corvette is due in 2009
The C6 Corvette is a phenomenon. Despite a substandard interior, its power, dynamics, and styling have given it international credibility the C5 struggled to achieve and the gold-chain-inspiring C3 and C4 could only dream of. Now it's talked of as a competitor for Porsche 911, Aston Martin V-8 Vantage, various BMW Ms, and Mercedes AMGs. That 505-horsepower Z06 (the 2007 Z06 is pictured) hasn't hurt.
But just before it's replaced by the all-new C7, the C6 will get one last shot at automotive immortality: around 700 horsepower and a new name. Word in Detroit is the long-awaited ber-Corvette, codenamed the Blue Devil after Rick Wagoner's alma mater's NCAA team, will now likely be called Z07. Purists at GM have balked at naming it the Corvette SS, after Zora Arkus-Duntov's definitive Chevy sport racer. Corvette Super Sport had been the expected name for the last year or so.
It's not coming as soon as you'd hoped: It'll be a 2009 model. And it'll essentially be a "build out" of C6 bits, combined with some powertrain parts that'll appear on the C7. As Jim Queen revealed in Motor Trend last month, General Motors is talking in the 700 horsepower neighborhood for its Top Gun C7, which jibes with the output predicted from the supercharged 7.0-liter V-8. Bet on the 505-horsepower Z06 becoming the standard C7 Corvette.
The C7 will launch in the 2010 calendar year. Just six model years for the C6? The C5 ran seven, but its predecessor was built for 13 model years, and the C3 dates back to the signing of the Magna Carta. This is a good sign: Corvette was considered for the chopping block during its 13-year C4 run.
|