Under The Spotlight: 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
The 7.0-liter, 500-horsepower, 200-mph Vette has arrived
Wait! Don't turn that page! This may look like the same Corvette that's been overexposed on newsstands over the past 12 months, and it may bear familiar Z06 badging that suggests it's just that same Corvette with 10-15-percent-better performance. But this is actually GM's Dodge Viper slayer, its stealth weapon against Ford's GT supercar.
Can you wrap your mind around the concept of a factory-issued, fully warranted 200-mph Corvette that'll hit 100 mph in the low sevens and run mid- or low 11s in the quarter? Okay, none of those numbers is official yet. The car is still undergoing wind-tunnel testing and final engine tuning. But sources say a prototype with full camo flapping in the high-speed breeze has driven well into the 190s, and our pocket Cray supercomputer says that at 200 mph this Vette would be spinning at or just past its power peak in fifth gear, which seems plausible.
Here's the beef backing that brag: The 7.0-liter LS7 engine will produce at least 500 horsepower at 6200 rpm and 475 pound-feet of torque at 4800 rpm. Revving just slightly past its 7000-rpm redline through base Corvette six-speed gearing, it'll hit 60 mph in first in well under four seconds. The chassis is--drum roll--all aluminum. Magnesium and carbon-fiber parts also are used to help contain the total curb weight to under 3150 pounds. That'll put the new Z06's weight-to-power ratio below both the GT's 6.3 pounds/horsepower and the Viper's 6.8. Aero tuning reduces total lift and balances the front and rear lift coefficients while increasing the base Vette's 0.28 drag coefficient to 0.34.
While the new Z06 broke cover in Detroit in January, we won't get a chance to drive it and verify all these lofty claims until later this spring. You won't get a crack at it either until the fourth quarter of 2005, at which point we estimate you'll have to shell out $75-$85 large. For now, let's train our magnifying glasses on this exotic Chevrolet.
1- Splitter and 30-percent-larger grille opening make Z06 a front breather; base car is a bottom breather.
2- Intake air enters through new nostril.
3- Black fender lips at the leading edge of the front wheel openings direct air around the wide tires. Generous radius at trailing edge of fender liner smooths airflow, deflects stone damage.
4- Carbon-fiber front fenders widened slightly and incorporate larger functional air exhaust scoop. Must be clamped to a painting fixture, or the sprayers blow them away.
5- Hatchback body style weighs 22 pounds more than the previous Z06's notchback, but greatly improves aerodynamics. Lightweight Plexiglas considered for the hatch flunked GM's ultraviolet stability and scratch-resistance tests.
6- Rear SMC quarter panels widened by 1.5 inches each to clear wheels that are two inches wider than the base car's.
7- Tall Gurney-lip ducktail spoiler reduces lift.
Tricks to achieve big-block displacement in a small-block: 4.125-inch bore leaves so little material between cylinders that iron liners had to be pressed, rather than cast, in, as with LS2's 4.0-inch bore. (Tuners: these liners can only be bored another 0.5 mm of wall thickness in service.) Four-inch stroke required extra-short pistons that actually come out of the block far enough to require "skirts" on the liners, protruding below the block.
No stripped-down racer: Standard equipment includes air-conditioning, head-up display. Bose audio, heated seats, side airbags, and Homelink all are options. Steering wheel 0.8-inch-smaller diameter.
1- Hydroformed structural side rails are geometrically identical to their steel counterparts. Remaining aluminum castings, stampings, and sheets are attached via metal-inert gas welding, laser welding, and riveting. Dana Corp. builds the structure.
2- Six-piston calipers chomp on 14.0x1.3-inch rotors in front, four-piston calipers and 13.4x1.0-inch rotors suffice in back. Ceramic brakes were planned for the Z06, but won't be implemented until costs fall sufficiently to market them as a $4000 option.
3- Magnesium roof structure from coupe's removable panel gets bolted in permanently. Maintaining the desired chassis rigidity with a removable roof would've required 44 pounds of added structure.
4- Balsa-wood core floor panels are sandwiched between layers of carbon fiber instead of fiberglass, adding strength and reducing weight.
5- Springs and bars stiffened all around. Sachs monotube shocks fitted (the magnetic shock fluid can't withstand severe track duty).
6- Exhaust flows through short tubular header pipes into a large four-into-one collector chamber and then to a high-flow catalyst through three-inch pipes to two giant mufflers. Each has a mechanical flap that opens above 3500 rpm near wide-open throttle for straight-through flow. Result: 38-percent-less back pressure than in LS2.
Privateers have raced Vettes for 50 years, but the factory joined the fun only in 1999. The C5-R won an overall victory in the Daytona 24-hour race, three 1-2 finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTS class, three straight class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, and four consecutive manufacturers's championships in the American Le Mans Series. The team ran undefeated in 2004.
The C5-R inspired many of the changes made to the Z06 and many more upgrades were engineered to enable enhancements on the C6-R race car (American Le Mans series rules mandate strong links to the production car). Here's some of the race-tech shared between the street and race cars:
• 7.0-liter displacement
• Twin-pump dry-sump lubrication
• Computer-machined cylinder-head porting
• Titanium valves and connecting rods
• Forged-steel crankshaft
• Aerodynamic tuning
Source: Motor Trend.
Regards,
ALLAH HAFIZ.
