The Z06 Visits Carlsbad

You have your mid-engine C8 Corvette, and then you have your C8 Z06 Corvette -- the super performance version of the new generation Corvette.

Frequent readers of this blog will remember that Don and I got to see the unveiling of the Z06 (the next day) at the Peterson Auto Museum up in LA on October 27, 2021.

The C8 Corvette Z06 Reveal

Some of you Corvette Faithful are aware that Chevrolet decided in 2022 to create a roadshow for the new Z06 and to caravan the car around the country to various Chevy dealers.  They loaded up an 18-wheeler with a car, display exhibits, and four nice young people to tell prospective customers all about the new Z06.

2023 Corvette C8 Z06 Roadshow Tour 

I'm not sure that I will ever understand why Chevy thought that they needed to promote a car that has thousands and thousands of potential buyers on multi-year waiting lists to buy a car that is only being produced at about 3,000 per year (this number based on intelligence from Corvette Forum). But Chevy does some strange things, right?

Back in June 2022, Nan and I were at a meeting of our local Corvette Club, North Coast Vettes, and one of the members mentioned that the Z06 Road Tour would be at our local Chevy dealer the next day.  Ha!  Our chance to actually sit in and touch a Z06! 

The next day we went to take a look.  We were amazed to find that we had the showroom and the display exclusively to ourselves.

The car, of course, was stunning.  What catches your eye first are the huge side vents designed to get lots of cool air into the engine -- Chevy calls it the "wishbone".

In addition to the side vents, additional vents (and radiators) are visible in the front of the car.

 Just like Don's C8, the engine is visible through the back window.  But the Z06 engine is different -- a "flat plane" crankshaft and twin overhead cams produce 670 HP and revs to 8,600 RPM. Unfortunately, the nice people running the display didn't let us start the engine or DRIVE THE CAR! 😞

This car was equipped with first-time-ever factory carbon fiber wheels.  This is a nice option if you have a spare $18,500 in your savings account.

We got to see the massive tires that come on the Z06 if you choose the Z07 package. Whoa!

 

You might think that the limited edition Z06 would offer few options, but that is not the case. The Road Tour displays showed some of the many options available -- we have a copy of the official Chevrolet Z06 Order Guide -- it is 102 pages long.

The displays included a cool touch-screen video showing many of the features of the car . . .

. . . . and another telling all about the engine (including its awesome sound).

We tried to convince the nice people at the Road Tour that Nan should be first in line to get one of these cars -- after all, she already has the license plate (which we took to the dealership)!

It was a nice try, but it didn't work.  I guess we will have to be patient. 😞