Nan's Z06

Regular readers of this blog are aware that in October 2023 Nan received her 2024 mid-engine C8 Corvette Stingray.

 

Nan's C8 Mid-Engine Corvette Stingray 

After receiving the car, she asked for her various deposits, which had been placed with Chevy dealerships, to be returned, with one exception . . .she decided to let her deposit "ride" for the Z06 that had been placed two years ago with MacMulkin Chevrolet in Nashua, New Hampshire (the largest Corvette dealership in the World).

Her thinking was that, since the waiting list was still two to three years into the future, she could stay on their list, and when her slot for a Z06 came to the top of the list, she could decide what she wanted to do.

And she still had her Z06 license plate ready to press into service at the appropriate time.

We were at peace with that decision and thought that we were through buying 2024 Corvettes for now.

On November 8th at 02:13 PM, while shopping at the Dollar Store for Thanksgiving supplies, Nan received an email on her phone from Mark Makarewicz of MacMulkin:

**URGENT** MacMulkin Corvette available Z06

To those of you receiving this email, there is a very rare opportunity currently for our customers that are in California. We have a customer that unfortunately could not complete their purchase of their Z06. This car is currently in CA at a courtesy dealer we work with very frequently (Delillo Chevrolet) They are in Huntington Beach.

This car will not last long!!! If you are interested in moving forward on this car please call or text my personal cell to confirm availability

Then Nan made a big mistake -- she forwarded the message (and the attached window sticker for the car) to me.

By 05:15 PM we were at Delillo Chevrolet to see the car. 

The next day we drove it home.

Now Nan has two 2024 Corvettes.

And guess what she did with her license plate?

Maybe, if I'm good, she will let me drive it?

Finally,  after two years, accolades for the Corvette Z06 continue to pour in.  Below are two recent magazines featuring the Z06 -- the April 2023 Motor Trend announcing that the Z06 was their performance vehicle of the year, and the January CORVETTE magazine containing an article describing the experience driving the Z06 on the track at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School.

 

 

Nan's C8 Mid-Engine Corvette

Christmas Eve, 2023

Two months ago today, on October 24, 2023 Nan finally received her 2024 eighth generation ("C8") mid-engine Corvette convertible. The car is Red Mist Metallic, with matching brake calipers and the tan "dipped" interior, chrome wheels and all the options that Nan wanted.  Arriving at this happy destination was a bit of an odyssey, as you will read below.

Close friends will remember that I sold Nan's award-winning 1956 Corvette back on October 15, 2021, so she was "Corvetteless" for two years and nine days.

The C8 Corvette Stingray was released in 2020, with an all new design, mandated by placing, for the first time in a Corvette, the engine behind the driver.  At first she (and I) weren't completely sold on the new design. But then on October 26, 2021 (11 days after the 56 was sold) Chevy announced the Z06 version of the C8 Corvette at the Peterson Museum in LA with an on-line extravaganza.  Nan and I watched the reveal video over and over.  The Z06 was going to be a very special car!

Early the next morning Don and I drove to LA so we could be the first people in line at the Peterson to see the C8 Z06 Corvette up close and in person.  Wow!  What a car!  The reveal car was a Red Mist Metallic Convertible with the "dipped" tan interior.  Here is one of the photos we took of the car and the story of our trip.

 

Reveal of the C8 Z06 Corvette

Nan liked the car enough that she decided to buy one.  The only problem was that there were long waiting lists at all the Chevy dealers, even the largest ones.  So Nan went through all the hoops to get in line at four different dealerships.  And she waited. And waited. 

Wanting to be ready for her new car, she ordered the license plate from California DMV,

 

After two years, the production of the Z06 remained low and the demand remained high. The wait was estimated to be another 2 to 3 years.  So in June of this year she decided to forgo the Z06 and instead order the Stingray version.  

Getting a Chevy dealer who would give her an allocation for a Stingray proved to be just as challenging as the Z06.  So on June 24th she turned to Mike Piccirilli of Miller and Sons Chevrolet - Buick in Aliqqippa, Pennsylvania -- the same dealership that sold us our 2018 C7 Z06.  

Mike Piccirilli sells us a 2018 Z06 

Mike told Nan that he thought he could get an allocation for a 2024 Corvette, and if he could, the car would be hers!  By July, Mike had received an allocation and Nan went through the 100 page Corvette order guide to specify every detail of the car that would be custom built for her. In early August, Mike called her to say that Nan's order was "accepted" (meaning that her car could be built with the options specified). And on August 18th, while we were at the Laguna Seca Corvette Race, Mike called to tell Nan that her car had been scheduled for production.

Mike kept in constant contact with Nan, even giving her updates as the car was traveling across the country from Bowling Green Kentucky to San Diego.  She picked up the car on October 24th.

She immediately had chrome wheels installed, and the paint ceramic coated and protective film applied.

 But, she had a problem!  You can't put a Z06 license plate on a Stingray.  So . . . she chose

Her nickname for the car is "Rocket" and she drives it everywhere.

 

Merry Christmas to everyone, but especially Mike Piccirilli.

[The story doesn't end here . . . stay tuned to this blog site for the next chapter (coming soon)!]