Life with a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Live Blog

Not so long ago the Car and Driver long-term test fleet featured performance greats such as the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, the BMW M3, and Cadillac's Blackwing twins. Naturally, our taste for high-octane performance machines has only grown more insatiable since their departure.

Enter the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Powered by a 670-hp flat-plane-crank 5.5-liter V-8, this is a Corvette gone Super Saiyan. Oh, it's also the fifth-fastest car we've ever run at Lightning Lap. Sadly, we aren't able to run our usual 40,000-mile long-term test format (as we did on a regular C8, a 2021 Stingray Z51). But we did manage to wrangle an extended loan, and we'll be producing frequent updates to let you know what life with a Z06 is like. From dropping the kids off at school to grocery store runs and potential track days, we'll be updating you on every mile for the next month or so.

Sharing the Fun: A Cars and Coffee Excursion

The Corvette Z06 is a powerful machine, and we're not just talking about the 670 horsepower pumping out of the 5.5-liter V-8. The bewinged Vette has a magnetic pull on anyone with even a remote interest in things that go vroom—eliciting constant thumbs-ups and envious cries of "Nice ride!" from strangers. Starting it up outside the local shopping mall sent one toddler's jaw to the floor, the breathtaking aura of the Batmobile-like styling so powerful that he was scared to even sit in the fighter-jet-style cockpit when I extended the offer to his mother.

Given the amount of attention the Corvette commanded among the general public, we figured it would be fun to take it into our den of local car enthusiasts and see how much hubbub it could cause. So I cruised over to the local Cars and Coffee event for the final meet of the season on a brisk October morning, treading carefully in the crisp autumn air as the temperature sensors reminded me that the nearly slick tires were ice-cold.

I showed up early, nabbing a central spot, and was soon joined by a standard C8 Corvette that parked alongside, giving attendees the perfect visual comparison. While the C8 is dramatic looking even in its most basic guise, the Z06's wider fenders, huge side vents, and extreme aerodynamics made the Stingray look like a tee-ball player standing next to Shohei Ohtani. Before you come at us in the comments for pulling the car into our spot, know we did so purposefully—as demonstrated below.

As more gearheads arrived, we popped the Z06's rear decklid to reveal the flat-plane-crank V-8. Soon a cluster of middle-aged men had formed around the engine bay, trading stories of their experiences in past Corvettes and debating the intricacies of the Z06's motor. When I offered to start it up, the answer was a resounding chorus of yeses. As the initial shriek of the V-8 firing blasted out of the quad-exhaust, those closest to the Vette jumped back in giddy shock.

A few prods of the throttle saw mouths agape and eyebrows raised. A young girl stood with her fingers in her ears but with her eyes glued to the car as the revs rang out into the slowly brightening sky. Phones appeared in gloved hands, recording videos to send to buddies who weren't there to experience the Corvette's concerto. The Vette's performance was only overshadowed by the arrival of a vivid blue 2005 Ford GT, but a few blips of the gas pedal brought the crowds right back.

It's safe to say that the Corvette's time at the local car meet was a resounding success. It was also a stark reminder that this is not a car for introverts. Regardless of if someone can rattle off GM engine codes by heart or simply loves the look of a low-slung sports car, the Corvette Z06 will evoke their curiosity, an instant conversation starter. Unfortunately for us, this was our last outing with the Z06, and we've had to bid a tearful farewell. Even though our 2021 Stingray Z51 performed admirably throughout the colder months, it's probably for the best that gave up the Z06 before the true Michigan winter set in.

Performance Testing: Flat Out Mayhem

Track testing a C8 Corvette Z06 makes for an intense day at the office. Previous test results need to be analyzed beforehand. The car’s myriad performance controls demand familiarization. On the road, its 670 horses are surprisingly approachable, docile even. But give them the spurs and they prove to be loud, angry beasts. Even in our car’s subdued grey hue, slinking through traffic is impossible.

The other current-generation Z06s we’ve tested have been set up for maximum cornering grip with their wheels in an aggressive factory track alignment. But our resident long-termer is the first one we’ve sampled with the tamer street alignment that most customers will be familiar with. Less bite from the car’s front end is the main takeaway, but the difference is minimal on public roads.

After deactivating the car’s stability controls, we trundle onto our Michigan test facility’s 300-foot skidpad in full-attack mode. Our current mule is equipped with the Z07 handling package and near-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. which enabled us. We managed to achieve a disorienting 1.16-g score on a previous Z06 test of a car with a similar setup to ours. We only—only—manage 1.13 g this time around, yet that’s still a massive amount of stick compared to our long-term Corvette Stingray, which produced a still-Velcro-like 1.03 g of grip when new. Similarly impressive is the composure with which the Z06 orbits the skidpad, settling into mild understeer and never wagging its tail at the limit of adhesion. The car’s prodigious grip also pays dividends under braking, with stops from 70 mph requiring only 144 feet. Drop the anchor at 100 mph and its carbon-ceramic stoppers bring things to a halt in 278 feet.

With the evening sun streaming through the windshield, our car gets brutally hot inside with the climate controls off. In its default Tour mode, it shoots from 30 to 50 mph and from 50 to 70 mph in 2.0 and 2.2 seconds, respectively, just by mashing the accelerator in Drive. For our 5-to-60-mph test—which highlights the responsiveness of a car’s powertrain at low speeds—the Z06’s engine and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox snap to attention in Sport mode, doing the deed in 3.1 seconds. That’s nearly as quick as our Stingray was to 60 mph with a full launch-control start. A formidable street racer this one.

For its main acceleration runs, we set the Z06’s adaptive dampers to their softest setting, as the straightaway gets rather bumpy at high speeds. The car’s Performance Traction Management system is impressively adept at learning track conditions for optimal launch-controlled takeoffs, though you can also manually adjust the system’s parameters in the instrument cluster.

Hold down both pedals, let the revs build to around 4000 rpm, and let go of the brake. The Z06 growls and strains against its computerized reins as it scrabbles for traction. The 60-mph dash is over in just 2.6 seconds. Pulling hard at full chat, its flat-plane-crank V-8 sends a 99-decibel shriek echoing through the surrounding forest as the car hits 100 mph in a mere 5.9 seconds. The 8500-rpm upshifts come fast as the speed increments continue to fall: 132 mph (in 10.5 seconds) through the quarter-mile; 150 mph in 15.0 seconds flat. Our field of vision narrows, and time slows considerably as our VBOX display ticks over 170 mph at 24.8 seconds. The Z06 has more to give, but it’s fighting against the wind and the braking zone is approaching at roughly 250 feet per second, so we get on the left pedal. Checking our data at the end of the straight, we take a deep breath and turn around to do it again.

The Z06’s optional ventilated seats offer cooling relief as we pull up to the facility’s exit gate to return our radio and day pass. Another day at the office. “This thing is awesome,” says the wide-eyed security guard. Yes, it is. —Mike Sutton

5510–5906 miles: Caddy Daddy

How to (over) compensate for having the worst handicap index among a group of 16 guys headed out to a marathon golf weekend? Show up in a Corvette Z06, of course.

Supercars and even sports cars usually don’t mix well with golf, where the clubs are often forced to ride shotgun. But that’s not true of the Corvette, including the Z06, which retains the same wide rear trunk that’s plenty lengthy enough to accommodate the sticks, without removing the woods. In fact, the trunk is deep enough to get two modestly sized bags in there, while still leaving the front trunk to swallow a couple duffle bags and other weekend supplies.

Although a Z06 is total overkill for any normal driving duties, a couple-hour highway trundle to Michigan’s thumb area seemed especially beneath the most weaponized Corvette yet, especially when wearing the full Z07 kit and aero upgrades.

Initially the cabin feels tight, but you get used to it and even with the most aggressive competition seats, the Z06 ends up being plenty comfortable for multiple hours at a time. Sure, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires thwack over sharp impacts, the road noise can be excessive, and it still tramlines even with street-alignment settings—I’d like to try one on the base Michelin PS4S tires—but the Z06 is amazingly civil for a car that ran the fifth-fastest lap time at Virginia International Raceway in all our years of Lightning Lap.

I could almost feel the Z06 rolling its eyes at me as I pointed its track-focused tires down a rutted dirt road to our rental house on Lake Huron, but the front-axle lift kept the carbon-fiber splitter out of harm’s way. The crew was suitably impressed, rides were requested and given and, although we bemoan the loss of the manual transmission in the eighth-generation Corvette, having the automatic does have its benefits. Like doing a remote start while standing behind and letting the aggressive initial rev of a cold flat-plane-crank LT6 V-8 wash over you while taking in an over-water sunrise before heading to the course. There aren’t many better ways to start the morning.