Test Drive: 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

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It’s a good thing that accelerating too quickly isn’t a traffic offence. We know the law is picky about speed, but acceleration – well, that seems to have slipped through.

This is a fortunate oversight when you’re driving the $89,900 2006 Corvette Z06, as in this car you can have a great time hurtling from 0-100 km/h in something like 3.8 seconds flat, and as long as you’re not stupid or reckless, it’s perfectly legal.

Believe me, highway on-ramps have never looked so good.

When you settle in at something like 120 km/h after seeming to appear instantly among lesser traffic, you can slip it into sixth, hit the cruise, and trundle along at 1,600 rpm while returning an economical 9.0 l/100 km in fuel consumption. You can do this for a while and generate a kind of gas credit, you see, to redeem at the next highway on-ramp.

This is something to do with karma, I believe (my mind was somewhat altered in the days of “karma”). It’s definitely something to do with physics, I’m sure of that.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

Celebrated Canadian race car driver, Ron Fellows, of Le Mans, ALMS and NASCAR fame has something to do with it as well. He drives the track version of this car, the C6-R (and drove its predecessor, the C5-R), and was directly involved in taming it for the road.

This is a key thing to remember with the Z06: it’s not a “base” car that’s been tweaked for higher performance. Rather, it’s the result of simultaneously developing one version for the track, and another for everyday driving (if you call a maximum lateral g-force of 1.04, and 505-horsepower under your foot “everyday.”)

Yes, let’s talk about numbers for a bit. As I said, 505-horsepower (at 6,200 rpm); 470 lb-ft torque at 4,800 rpm; top speed about 320 km/h; 7.0-litre V8 engine (“Has this thing got a 427?”),

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

six forward gears, 275/35R18-inch front tires; 325/30R19-inch rear tires;
14-inch cross-drilled front rotors with six pistons; 13.4-inch cross-drilled rear brakes with four pistons; three-inch dual exhaust with quad bi-mode mufflers; 1,244 millimetres high (about four-feet); two seats, and one hatchback with room for quite a few bags.

At 1,419 kg (3,130 pounds), the Z06 is also very light (lighter than a Porsche 911 Carrera). This is achieved by using carbon-fibre fenders and floor panels, a magnesium cradle for the engine and an aluminum body structure. It is, of course, a fibreglass body.

That body has lines that must make other cars just want to run and park. If it were a person it would have the kind of sculpted, lean, healthy, powerful look that every gym rat craves. It is a body that causes people to look, point, give thumbs-up, or go all-wistful. My goodness, the Z06 is one fine looking machine.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

But while numbers and flashy looks give you an idea of this car’s potential, they can’t tell you how this potential is delivered. As a road car, the Z06 is unexpectedly docile at low speeds. When accelerating with restraint from a standstill, the shifter bypasses second gear, prompting you to go directly to fourth (it’s not pushy about this; if you want to go to second, you do). It has plenty of torque for this manoeuvre, and it keeps the fuel consumption down.

At 60 km/h in fourth, the engine is turning 1,500 rpm and things are all quiet in the cabin. The available Bose sound system seems worth the extra cost; the steering is light; the suspension very firm, and the ride is smooth on good pavement, although choppy on rough surfaces. You forgive it this indiscretion.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

However, as I intimated earlier, step on the gas in second gear, and really, all hell breaks loose. This engine emits a ferocious roar as the two-stage exhaust opens up, and it blasts to 5,000-6,000 thousand rpm before you know it, and continues to catapult you forward after you’ve snatched third gear at something like 120 km/h.

Of course, there’s plenty more where that came from.

Cornering is razor sharp as the steering tightens up at speed, enabling the Z06 to change directions with unusual precision and control. Braking is equally sudden: its multi-pot calipers clamping on those huge rotors to bring the car down from triple digits right now. In short, this car does pretty much whatever you tell it to do, which means you could drive it off the showroom floor, down the highway, onto a racetrack, and be scary competitive (Ron Fellows told me this himself, and I believe him).

The Bose has no chance against such a cacophony when the Z06 is doing what it was designed to do, and even when cruising on the highway, it’s in a battle as the cabin is pretty noisy at the best of times. But really, what do you want to do? Listen to your tunes or listen to that wonderful engine?

The hand-assembled “LS7” engine, by the way, has a cast aluminum block with aluminum cylinder heads, and racing-derived lightweight components, including titanium connecting rods and intake valves, to help boost horsepower and rpm capability. It’s the most powerful small-block engine ever made by GM for a production car, and it really is a 427, so there’s some definite history there. This engine redlines at 7,000 rpm.

Don’t get the idea that the Z06 is only a mechanical marvel, though. It has sophisticated electronics to help keep you on the road and pointing in the right direction.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

Its active handling system integrates chassis, brake and traction control systems (you can turn the traction system off, but really, if you’re not accustomed to this kind of vehicle, you should leave it on). There are power steering, engine oil, axle brake, and transmission coolers, stiffer springs and stabilizer bars, Z06 specific shock absorbers and tires (Goodyear Eagle F1), and fabulous seats.

In fact, the sport seats in the Z06 may be the most comfortable and supportive that I’ve ever experienced. Sit in one for a 1,000 km journey, and you’ll emerge from the car feeling fresh and relaxed. No stiffness at all. Push the car in a corner so that the g-meter in the head-up display nudges 0.6, 0.7 and beyond, and the seat holds you securely in place.

You want nit-picks? The cupholders in the centre console aren’t Tim’s friendly. Two large cups don’t fit, and there’s nowhere else to put one of them except on your lap.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

The driver’s power-operated seat was a mystery to me. When leaving the car, sometimes it would travel all the way rearward to help with egress (fine) but after closing the door, it would travel all the way forward and stay there (strange). I’m sure there’s a solution; I couldn’t find it.

The front licence plate fits into a holder that attaches to the bumper with two-way tape. It fell off (was fortunately recovered), but if you buy a Z06, and you’re in a province that requires front licence plates, look forward to possibly drilling holes in your bumper.

The front valance is perilously close to the road. If your house has a steep driveway, requires going over a curb or has any kind of obstacle to traverse, you may have to move.

And closing the hatch would really benefit from a motorized lock so that to get it fully closed, you don’t have to slam it or lean on it.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Click image to enlarge

Our Le Mans Blue car added a few extras for about five-grand. Auto-dimming mirrors, the Bose audio system, heated seats, seat mounted side impact airbags, power tilt/telescope steering column, universal home remote are a few of the 1SB package items that bring the Z06 to $94,800, if you so choose. Except for the airbags, these are creature comforts. Nice to have, but you get the same basic car without them.

Acceleration, cornering, stopping in the Z06 will take you out of your hum-drum world and into the zone where your mind is sharp, your senses alight, your heart thumps and you’ve got a big grin on your face most of the time. It can hardly be called a four-season car in most parts of Canada, but compared with the six-digit prices of its German and Italian competitors, $89,900 for the Z06 seems a downright bargain.