The ‘regular’ right-hand drive C8 Corvette is yet to land on Australian shores, but Chevrolet is working on an even hotter Z06 version that will wear Australian-built carbon wheels.
Spotted testing at the Nurburgring in Germany, the 2023 Corvette Z06 is expected to feature a new engine unique to the Corvette range.
Based on an engine used in the Corvette C8.R race car, the flat-plane crank double overhead cam V8 will be mated with a dual-clutch automatic transmission to provide not only more performance, but a sound unique to the Corvette range.
Last year, Car and Driver reported the new Z06 would be fitted with a 5.5-litre flat-plane V8 engine which would rev to around 9000rpm. It was expected to make at least 447kW of power.
However, EVO Magazine reports the new Z06 will produce more power than its C7 Z06 predecessor, which used a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 engine producing 485kW of power.
The Corvette is a fast car already, hitting 0-100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, so expect the Z06 to take things to a whole new level.
Previous generations of the Z06 were available with an optional aero package with a range of downforce-enhancing add-ons, but it appears the Z06 may have these as standard equipment to harness the performance on offer.
A large rear wing is joined by an aggressive front splitter to increase downforce, with reports suggesting the rear wing will be active to aid with dynamic downforce and stability under braking.
In addition to the aero, this particular test car was wearing a set of carbon fibre wheels.
A source within General Motors has confirmed these wheels are from Australian manufacturer Carbon Revolution.
It follows from an eBay listing reported by Motor1 last year that showed wheels with the same design being sold as genuine Corvette C8 wheels used as part of the development program.
Carbon Revolution engineers, builds, and designs these wheels around one hour outside Melbourne in Geelong, and has produced wheels previously for vehicles such as the Ford GT, Ford Mustang GT500, Ferrari 488 Pista, and Ferrari SF90.
Disclaimer: The author holds shares in Carbon Revolution
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