Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Luxury


After a bright-yellow false start, here is the real thing: the fourth-generation, 2015 Corvette Z06. If Chevrolet makes a ZR1 version of the C7 Corvette, it's going to be absolutely mega, because the Z06 is just about everything we got in the last ZR1, but better.

The new Z06 engine is just an inch taller than the LT1 in the Corvette Stingray, and there are few more powerful inches in the world: the LT4 is a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 producing "at least" 625 horsepower and 635 pound-feet of torque. The integrated 1.7-liter Eaton supercharger and intercooler sit in the engine's vee, that blower spinning beyond the ZR1's supercharger limit of 15,000 up to 20,000 rpm and utilizing shorter rotors to get up to speed more quickly. To keep gas mileage in check, you'll still benefit from Chevy's Active Fuel Management, as well as direct injection and variable valve timing. It's also been fitted with a dry-sump oil system that has a larger capacity than on the Stingray's Z51 package.

The Z06 will shift through either a seven-speed manual or the all-new 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmission that we thought was going into the Corvette and not into the Z06. It's a conventional automatic with a torque converter overseeing four gearsets and five clutches, and it's lighter than the six-speed in the Stingray while fitting in the same space. Chevrolet says there's no performance sacrifice, declaring that "wide-open-throttle upshifts executed up to eight-hundredths of a second quicker than the dual-clutch in the Porsche 911." Naturally, it will come with paddle shifters. Those who prefer three pedals will find their seven-speed manual fitted with a new dual-mass flywheel and dual-disc clutch.Continue reading Supercharged 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 takes the C7 beyond the ZR1

Supercharged 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 takes the C7 beyond the ZR1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Jan 2014 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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