Chevrolet Corvette C6 (2005 - 2013) Review

Date: 05.10.2015

Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06

Chevrolet Corvette C6 (2005 - 2013)

Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06

Chevrolet Corvette C6 (2005 - 2013)

As we look at the seven generations of the Corvette, this time the focus is on on the sixth gen C6, from 2005-2013

CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6
2005-2013

The C5 only stuck around for seven years, and its successor refined the theme. Gone were the bulky pop-up lights, the C6 returning to the C1’s fixed lamps. In most other regards, the C6 was a fiercely forward-looking car and refined the C5 formula ruthlessly. The Euro-snobs who laughed at ill-handling American cars suddenly went very quiet. The C6 was more than capable of pulling down the pants of some performance car royalty. When compared to a Porsche 911, the Corvette was usually within a sniff on handling and leagues ahead on straight line performance, resulting in quicker lap times and usually getting the nod in its favour. The C6 finessed the fundamentals compared to its predecessor. The car was 5.1 inches shorter yet featured 1.2 inches more in the wheelbase.

The Z06 big hitter arrived in 2006 and the mighty supercharged LS9 6.2-litre engine debuted in the 2009 ZR1. General Motors development engineer Jim Mero piloted the ZR1 to a 7m19s lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife, bettering the time of the much-vaunted Dodge Viper ACR. Oh, and those of the Ferrari Enzo, the Maserati MC12, the Porsche Carrera GT and the Pagani Zonda F Clubsport. Read the small print and you realise the 7m22s lap the Z06 recorded bettered all of the European blue-bloods as well.

The C6 was also the first Vette for a very long time with a halfway tidy cabin, and the impression of quality was augmented with a 2008 refresh, when the LS3 6.2-litre engine debuted as the entry-level lump. The final edition of the C6 was the 2013 60th Anniversary Package and the very desirable 427 Convertible. The latter is as close as Chevy got to offering a drop-top C6 Z06.

THE C6 Z06

Powered by the most potent small-block ever, the 505hp Z06 rolled into dealers in 2006. Carrying an evocative 427ci swept capacity (actually 427.6), or seven litres in new money, the Z06 was a destroyer of reputations right from the word go. Clothed in carbon fibre bodywork, with an aluminium frame, a wider track, monster six-pot calipers up front and four-piston clamps at the rear, and coolers for all fluids, including power steering, this was serious stuff. About 300 LS7 lumps could be hand-built per day at the Wixom, MI plant. "[This] is a racing engine in a street car," said Dave Muscaro, assistant chief engineer for small block engines. "There really has been nothing else like it offered in a GM production vehicle."

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