2023 Corvette Z06 arrives, packing world's most powerful naturally aspirated V-8

[Hagerty]

The rumors were true. The 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 has finally been revealed, and it is indeed powered by a 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V-8, a configuration shared with its C8.R brethren. The high-revving engine, teased over the course of the last several months, and then very prominently last week, revs to 8600 rpm and does so in quite a hurry.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/2023-corvette-z06-flat-plane-crank-v-8/

[ATLpaul]

Love the wheels. Love the center exhaust even more. And that engine is pure sex. Well done GM.

[F360Spider]

The amazing specs on the Z06 really put this car into the supercar realm.

I've seen a number of the C8's in person and I have to say, the car just doesn't photograph well. It's a stunning car in person but it looks too jetsonish in pictures.

[ThePorscheMan]

Stock C8's look horrible in photos AND in person BUT this puppy appears to be better proportioned and may be a better looker in person.

[PRScott]

It does have a certain Jetson quality about it

[gincledon]

I agree, when I saw the new C8 in all the magazines and pictures I did not think it looked very good, However, when I saw the first one on the street I did not think it could be a GM, it was great looking. The wider body work should look ever better.

[dooscoop32]

I did the math on the bore and stroke for this engine and something doesn't add up. You say it has a 4.1 inch bore and 3.1 inch stroke. When I checked that, the total cubic inches came out to 327.42 and when I divided that by the amount of cubic inches in a liter, the total came out to 5.36 liters.

Yet you claim the new engine has 5.5 liters which would be around 336 cubic inches.

So, what's the deal?

[Sajeev]

The article didn't list dimensions to deeper decimal places: it is actually a 4.104" bore and 3.150" stroke, which makes for a 333 CID engine. Which is about 5.45 liters in displacement. Why does GM want everyone to call it a 5.5 liter motor?

Probably because 5.4 is a displacement well known in Ford circles, especially in the 2005-06 Ford GT. But hey, GM makes the rules: https://media.chevrolet.com/media/us/en/chevrolet/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2021/oct... 

[hyperv6]

It is common to round off numbers on engine size. 

Might also note the engine may have more HP than listed. GM has a history of underrating power. 

[Ragtop69]

I had an LS1 powered Z28 Camaro that GM listed at 305 fwhp. I had it on a chassis dyno in pretty much stock form and it pulled 318 rwhp. If I assume even 10% drive train loss for the 4 speed automatic the car was equipped with, that comes out to 353 fwhp. GM has always let other criteria get in the way of their hp claims. BTW, that car equipped as described with 2.73 gears and on stock street tires ran a best of 13.44 sec. @ 107.43 mph at the local drag strip.

[OldCarMan]

Did the writer miss that Chrysler has been selling 700HP cars for a couple of YEARs now?
Over 30HP more...

[Sajeev]

Sure, but those are not naturally aspirated.

[JGeske]

Yeah, OldCarMan didn't read the headline fully. The "Naturally Aspirated" and "V8" parts. Sure, you can get a forced induction 4, 6, or 8 cylinder that pushes more ponies, but no naturally aspirated ones.

Similarly, there are naturally aspirated engines that produce more or similar power than this one, but they are not V8. Examples would be like the Viper's 8.4 liter V10 in 2017 pushing 645hp, or the 680hp 6.3l V12 from the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso. Per OldCarMan's logic that is only a small HP difference between them, but it really isn't the same as Dodge required nearly 3 extra liters and 2 more cylinders and Ferrari 0.8 liters and 4 extra cylinders, so apples and oranges.

The HP number is not the impressive part (although certainly impressive), the impressive part is the combination of cylinders, displacement, RPM for max torque/HP and lack of forced induction. This means the engine will be more durable and reliable in the long run, not to mention easier to service. The famous Lexus LFA had a naturally aspirated engine, but needed 9500 rpms out of a V10 to achieve 531hp and 370 lb-ft.

[Wedgehead]

Article said naturally aspirated.

[hyperv6]

They used super chargers. The last ZR1 also had more but they have not added Turbo chargers to this engine yet. 

[MATTMERICA]

This is NOT the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever made, that is a nonsensical statement. Maybe throw in a qualifier like "production" or similar. Sheesh.

[Daniel]

I like the looks of the Z06 way better than the C8. Finally some nice wheels! The wait will be forever to get one.

[rokky]

Raise your hands if you can afford one of these.
With the shut down of fossil fuel will Gm add an electric motor in the back?

[bblhed]

Didn't Hagerty just the other day run a story about a naturally asperated 1000+ Chevy motor? I believe that while not available with a car it is still a production engine, is it not?

[Sajeev]

No, because that's a crate motor which is different than a production engine.

And of course it, like many crate motors, would never, ever, make it into a modern production car...much less in a 1000hp configuration with no accessories or emissions controls. 

[JSievers]

Could GM do it if they wanted to? Damn straight. But that would embarrass the LT6 team and their efforts to compete with the Europeans on their terms rather than just relying on good old American muscle. Yes I drive an LS7 ZO6 and would like a true successor.

[Cool-isAmerican]

Nor would that 1,000 HP beast rev anywhere near this engines abilities!!!

[hyperv6]

GM has plans to put a twin turbo in this with a front assist motor with an expected combine 1,000 HP for the Zora. 

[Apex69]

Very interested in seeing the torque curve. The peak at 6300 gets me worried that this will be a dog down low.

[hyperv6]

Flat torque curve. In the intro they showed pushing the gas threw heads into the head rest and low and high speed. 

[gincledon]

That is the advantage of having duel cams, you can not only advance and retard the timing, but you can also change the overlap to get power at all engine speeds. That is why I liked the HE V6 so much, it had duel overhead cams and would idle at 600 RPM and still redline at 7500 and have a smooth power band. The HE V6 made as much power as a LS1, 7500 redline and weighed 100 LBs less then the LS1.

[JSievers]

Dual, Apex99, dual.

[OldFordMan]

Well enough for all you GM fans with ZO dreams up behind your seat.
But the minute FMC starts planning a rear powered Pony all of our brand loyal millions are going to storm corporate and turn over the management team.

[gincledon]

I have been asking for three years for a flat plane V8 version of the 3.6 V6. Finally an engine that is modern and a leader in technology. GM has been giving revised versions of the Small Block and LS engines for too many years, it is about time that they put the engineering that they have the capacity for to use. I hope that they offer it as a crate motor, I don't think I will be able to get one of the ZO7's.

[Teampantera]

Awesome

[MeJ]

I find it kind of sad that just as GM hits it out the park with a Caddy that is a better performance machine than a Bmw M car and a Corvette with might be the finest N/A engine ever made and can take on the worlds finest sports cars, that the entire auto world is going electric. It feels like we're at the pinnacle of the ICE engine yet knowing they're on the way out kind of dampens the enthusiasm I would normally have...

[gincledon]

Don't believe that the ICE is going anywhere. For all the talk there are not enough raw materials on the planet to make enough electric cars for just the US much less the world, and there is not enough electricity production to supply the electric cars they are already making. Unless they global elites stop most people in the world from having personal transportation (and they would like to do just that) there will be a mostly gas powered automotive fleet in the world.

[petersalt]

An advanced battery now in limited production uses the electropotential of oxidation of Fe to FeO2 to produce electrons and a reduction of FeO2 to Fe for charging. No rare earths are involved, and JUST a few millenia are estimated before you can buy such a battery at WalMart. just sayin' ...

[Gary_Bechtold]

Love it. The Z06 looks better and the performance stats should be amazing once those are revealed.

[CanadianLad]

I wonder if you just have to remove the intake and or the transmission to change the starter as per the picture of the starter drive...

[CanadianLad]

perhaps the engine too

[JSievers]

Welcome to exotic car ownership.

[merlebalke]

Wonder when the National Corvette Museum will raffle off one of these?

[Wedgehead]

Um, production V8 F1 engines make almost twice the HP......

[erne75]

Can we get a manual transmission? You know for the enthusiasts...

[Inline8OD]

120 + years of motordom, and Hagerty's chief source of content is daily Chevy/Ford/Corvette/Camaro/Mustang press releases, constant stream of odes to overrated, overpriced, non-rustproofed Ferrari du jour sharing the same dash switches, etc. as Fiat and other prosaic rides, with staffer's ego-driven boy racer asides, filler like "What's the most important tool in your garage?" and "Why do people abandon projects?"

The answer to the latter might be because they spend too much time glued to their computers, drooling over press releases, thrice-told tales and "dream garages."

[gfviperman]

Looks better than the Stingray

Not hard to do ...

0-60 times from GM have always been FAKE NEWS.

Motor Trend did a multi-car drag race about a year ago. A C8 and an F8 squared off in the Greatest Drag Race #10. Both cars rated 0-60 in 2.9 by their respective factories. F8 wiped it out!!! Check it on youtube.

[Cool-isAmerican]

Not the C2 Stingray!!

[dd1]

It's interesting that GM is building this car at the dawn of our fledgling EV era. Strange as this sounds, as impressive as it is--horsepower and all--I'd rather have a vintage C3 with an old fashioned manual tranny, AM/FM stereo and perhaps a working A/C. Just simple, easy stuff; nothing fancy. That would satisfy me. Stuff is just way to complicated, overpowered and off the charts for my tastes nowadays. Wow, I really do sound like an old person! Better eat my oatmeal and shuffle off to bed!:)

[911CarCab]

For the first time in my Porsche/Lotus life I want a Corvette (Z06 OF COURSE!!) !!!

[mbseaman]

670 horsepower from 333 cubic inches naturally aspirated in a production engine is remarkable. Back in my Pro Stock drag racing days, (ancient history) 2 horsepower per cubic inch was the bench mark for an all out, short life drag racing engine. My, my how things have changed over the decades.

[carguyjim]

How exciting!!! unlikely electric cars will EVER provide the visceral overload that a GASOLINE hypercar like this can deliver. KUDOS to this Chevy hitting the mark, despite the absence of traditional clean lines that I prefer even sans the obvious performance advantage...

[Mick1]

If God could make a car this would be the car. Wow

[Oldroad1]

No. God's car also fly's at hyper light speed. On the road maybe a bit less for scenery's sake.

[turbobill]

So why can't GM offer more than one interior color on their other vehicles?