2023 C8 Z06 Reviews are LIVE (Best Corvette Ever???)
GM just lifted the C8 Z06 reviews embargo and here’s what everyone’s saying. (The only thing left is to get it into customers’ hands.)
The 2023 Corvette Z06 is nothing short of a unicorn. Simultaneously the first and last of its kind. The most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever. The most expensive Corvette of all time (especially with dealer markups). And just something we can’t stop talking about everywhere here on CorvetteForum. Which brings us to this, glorious day. A few hours ago, GM lifted the C8 Z06 reviews embargo, which includes things like driving impressions and third-party performance measuring.
So expect to see a ton of coverage today all over the internet, YouTube, and every conceivable social media outlet. Hopefully, as you read and watch these reviews, we can set aside all of GM’s marketing hype… and replace it with a mixture of objective journalism and genuine enthusiast hype. And then, my friends, the only thing left will be to get these mighty mid-engine supercars into the hands of actual customers. People just like you…
What do YOU think about the C8 Z06 reviews???
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Traditional Media
Growing up back in a time when magazines were printed on actual paper, every convenience store stop required looking at the magazine rack for the likes of Road & Track, Car and Driver, and MotorTrend. Here’s what they had to say.
Road & Track admits the build quality is a little suspect with “some suspect panel gaps. In the spec provided, this car cost $162,000, so you’d expect top quality everywhere.” They also cautioned against getting a full Z07 package for street driving as, “Our Z07-pack car was particularly stiff, with front spring rates up 300 percent and rears up 200 percent compared to a Z51 pack Stingray. On a rough road, which the Northeast has plenty of, and with the Cup 2R and carbon wheels, it will feel harsh and can tramline with any imperfections.”
But for the most part, R&T gushes over the new Z06 —
And it’s fast. On Monticello’s shorter layout, the Z06 was hitting 140+ mph on the back straight and lapping within a second of the Mercedes-AMG GT Black we tested at our car of the year test last year, a Nürburgring record holder with 50 more horsepower and gobs more downforce. There’s definitely more time in the Z06. Braking performance might be the killer app, with repeated stops from mid-triple digits greeted with high initial bite and no signs of fade after multiple laps.
Car and Driver dubs the Z06 an “American Ferrari” with a sharply written opening paragraph —
The thought came to us as the Corvette Z06 bent obediently into Pitt Race International’s tight uphill Turn 5 at what would be an impossible speed in almost any other car. As the nose swung sharply toward the apex, a wave of g-force rose, the front tires clawed for grip, and the words arrived between heartbeats: This thing feels like a race car. A split second later, the Z06 was hurling itself out of the corner and down the next straightaway in a fast-forward rush, its flat-plane-crank V-8 engine blaring, howling, yawping out a soundtrack that was equal parts Gatling gun and circular saw. Yep, the Z06 sounds like a race car too.
C&D adds a number of tests in their specification section (including 2.6-seconds to 60mph with a 1-foot rollout and a 10.5-second quarter mile run at 131mph) and talks about value. It might start at over a hundred grand, and top out closer to $170K, but it feels and performs like vehicles that cost $200,000 more. “The new Z06 has a purity of purpose that brings us closer than ever to feeling what it’s like to drive a race car. And that just might make it the ultimate expression of what a Corvette can be.”
And the folks over at MotorTends call the new Z06, “the best American sports car ever made.”
How can we say this so definitively? What about the Ford GT, you might ask? What about the Dodge Viper ACR? We’ve driven them, tested them with our instrumentation, and we’ve tracked them, and they’re both great cars. Each is a Le Mans winner in its own right (though Corvette Racing has more wins than the two of them combined). The 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is better.
Most fascinating, I found, was that MT didn’t just report on their adventures in Pittsburg at the hosted media event (You’ll see a lot of that footage in the videos below). MT staff also independently tested a base Z06 Convertible — so heavier and without the track tires — and still produced very impressive results —
Start your run by using launch control; the car hits 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds on the way to a 10.6-second quarter-mile time at 131.6 mph. These are wild numbers for a base Z06 convertible with all the trimmings and base tires and the 100-pound-heavier power-folding roof. This convertible weighs a hefty 3,774 pounds and makes “only” 460 lb-ft. (Not that you’ll really notice the weight difference in the convertible; we didn’t on the street or the track.)
YouTubers C8 Z06 Reviews
While the old-school automotive press lavished praise on the Z06, let’s head over to some of our favorite YouTubers who do a fantastic job of touring and driving the new Z06.
Emelia Hartford, the queen of C8 Corvette drag racing, took her review loaner to the drag strip, of course, where she sets an impressive time beating the official GM-quote 10.6-second quarter-mile. We can expect more shenanigans and comparisons on her channel in the coming days.
Speed Phenom, a CorvetteForum favorite thanks to his racing bonafides, takes both the Z06 base and Z07 package out on the track to test out their capabilities back to back (although his video footage mostly focuses on his time in the Z07). If you want to know what it’s like to track the Z06, this is a fantastic video.
Jakub and Yuri over at The Straight Pipes call the Z06 a perfect “race car / street car mix” and show off how well the Z06 grips the road even in the rain.
David Patterson, aka That Dude in Blue, cuts together high-energy montages with a personal perspective based on spending the last decade driving dozens of high-performance vehicles. “I’m proud to say it came out of America,” Patterson says, complimenting the Corvette team on this risky venture. He also notes that the Z07 package makes the Z06 a “completely different car” and it’s worth the added costs.
Thomas Holland and James Engelsman of Throttle House offer up their unique blend of goofy hijinks and cinematic storytelling. Definitely put this one on your playlist, but this quote sums up their impressions nicely — “It’s difficult to call a car that costs six figures a bargain, but as James said, compared to Lambos or actual Ferraris, this has a starting price with a one before it. And, fully spec’d, it doesn’t break into the two-hundred thousands… This is every bit the supercar experience.”
Soyfan Bey of Redline Reviews was also on hand at Pitt Raceway for the media launch. Bey does a great job of giving a detailed tour of the interior and exterior before heading out for a drive in a convertible model where he says, “Just like the Porsche GT3, this is the one the enthusiasts are going to be salivating over.”
And last, but certainly not least, we have Jack and Mark over at SavageGeese. To be honest, I haven’t gotten to watch this one just yet because it clocks at nearly an hour, promising deep dives into engineer, design, and driving impressions. Well done, guys!
Photo: Michael S. Palmer
