Hot Damn, The New C8 Corvette Z06 Will Rev to 8600 RPM

To me, the redline is everything. Few on-paper stats can tell you what a car will feel like. But if a car can rev past 8000, you can be darn sure that it's going to feel wild at the top end of that tachometer. According to a new teaser, it looks like that'll be true for the C8 Corvette Z06.

We don't have full details yet, but a tweet from Chevy announced that it'll be revealed 8600 minutes from the publication of that tweet. In it, an embedded video shows a Z06's tachometer passing 8500 rpm as it hits 99 mph in 3rd gear. A stunned passenger proclaims, "Oh, it revs so hard!" So while it's not officially confirmed, the hints aren't exactly subtle.

This also deals with one of the oddities of the C8 Corvette Stingray. Despite its supercar proportions, the standard 'Vette still has a muscle car engine. The speed is incredible, but the sturdy 6.2-liter V-8 runs out of breath at just 6500 RPM. It can go like a Ferrari, but it won't sing like one.

Rumours have speculated that the upcoming Z06 version will ditch the loping, cross-plane-crank design of the LT2 in favor of a more exotic cross-plane-crank setup, a-la the Shelby GT350 or any number of high-dollar supercars. We expect it to be a 5.5-liter engine based on the Corvette Racing C8.R, producing 617 HP. But early rumors also suggested it'd rev to 9000 rpm, which clearly isn't happening. Full details will be announced next week, on October 26 at 12pm est, but it's hard to imagine an 8600-rpm V-8 in the C8's chassis being anything but spectacular. And if you're curious about looks, note that GM has already released a photo of the Z06.

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