Some Corvette fans and avid forum members over at GM Inside News have already asked the unfathomable question of what automaker should take over the reigns of America's longest-running sports car if its parent company were to lose custody. Their answer, rather shockingly, was Toyota. We sure hope it doesn't come to that. Still, tough questions deserve thoughtful answers, and Motor Trend is asking away. Even if The General survives, what does the future hold for Team Corvette, which has seen its ranks diminished in the past few weeks with the loss of key players including Vehicle Line Executive Tom Wallace and John Heinricy, test-driver extraordinaire and director of the performance division?
With such important personalities retiring from the 'Vette project, one might wonder if GM's iconic performance car will lose out on planned development. That seems like a real possibility, but we need to realize that R&D funds may be better spent keeping the leaky company afloat, something that the Corvette isn't a major part of. At least there's an excellent, proven platform for the new team to build from.
I received an Indy 500 poster on my birthday in 1986 that featured a Yellow C4 Corvette pace car leading the pack. My dad hung the poster above my bed, and I can honestly say that I stared at it every night for years. The Corvette was my dream car for my entire childhood, but as an adult I turned my attention to European rides like the Porsche 911 and the Ferrari 360 Modena. When the C6 Corvette hit the scene for the 2005 model year, the Bow Tie brand's halo vehicle again had me pining for some General Motors muscle. GM gave the base Vette the same 400 horsepower as the C5 Z06, and I figured it was all the power I could ever want. That is, until the 2006 Z06 came along. The Z06 was kicking ass on the track and in enthusiast magazines, and it was toppling competition that far exceeded the Corvette's $70,000 price of entry. We never had the Z06 in the Autoblog Garage, so we were more than happy to take it off Chevy's hands for a week. Hit the jump to see if the Z06 met our lofty expectations from childhood.
We loved the look and concept of Katech's Corvette Z06 ClubSport that we showed you last month, as did many of our readers. The emphasis on light weight components and track-ready components make it suitable for both street and racing duties, plus it's one of the most beautiful renditions of the Corvette we've seen to date. Our only complaint was that Katech provided just one photo to drool over. Fortunately, they remedied the situation by sending us a set of beautiful high-resolution photos, which we've added to the gallery below. You can also view more info on the car in the press release after the jump in case you missed it the first time around.
Wow, there are some great deals to be had at the moment from General Motors. Not the least of which is on the Corvette, specifically the Z06 model, which we've had nothing but good things to say about, even at its $72K asking price. Now that GM is offering all of its models at employee prices, that cost drops by about ten grand! A Z06 for $62,653? Yes please... if only our meager blogging budgets would allow it. Similarly, a Caddy XLR-V can be had for $84,771.80 -- about a $15,000 discount. Need an SUV? May we suggest a Hummer H3 for about $23K? Those in the market for a luxury sedan could certainly do worse than a Cadillac STS-V for $66,640.88 after some $14K in savings. Of course, practical shoppers can take five-grand off their Saturn Aura XR sedan and end up paying just $21,634.28 for the privilege.
An American supercar with lightweight components, sport suspension, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, aerodynamic body kit, and menacing black wheels. No, we're not talking about the Dodge Viper ACR. It's Katech's new ClubSport package for the Corvette Z06. The Detroit-based company has the credentials to build a 'Vette for the track. After all, it's responsible for building the race engines that go into the Le Mans-winning Corvette C6R race cars and the SCCA SPEED World Challenge cars. For the ClubSport, Katech adds a 14-inch, six-piston Brembo brake system, Moton ClubSport suspension, 15-spoke wheels, sticky Michelin tires, Katech appearance package, carbon fiber air intake, lightweight exhaust system and more. Also on the options list are leather race seats, A/C and radio delete, roll bar, and six-point harnesses. Add one of Katech's fully built motors, and the ClubSport will surely put down some pretty impressive numbers at the track.
Yes, it's a slow news day, as many Fridays are. But who's going to complain about looking at new high-res photos of the 2009 Chevy Corvette Z06? Sure, it's not the ZR1, but it's still a damn fine car and for 2009 is getting a few tweaks that might be noteworthy to some. The first that's immediately evident is the Cyber Gray Metallic paint color, which is also joined by Blade Silver Metallic. With the deletion of Machine Sliver Metallic, the Z06 exterior color palette now stands at nine colors. Also new are 'spider'-design 10-spoke wheels exclusive to the Z06, and they look damn good framing those large rotors and red calipers. Less exciting is the new bright surround around the Corvette logo on the hood and redesigned Z06 sill plates, though owners of the '09 model will get a standard power hatch pull-down, Bluetooth as an option and the 10.5-quart dry sump oil system from the ZR1. There's some more new stuff in GM's own words after the jump, but we're too busy looking at the pics to tell you what they are.
How do you follow up filming the ultra rare Lamborghini LP 640 and Wiesmann GT? If you're Supercarmovies.com, you pay homage to the best supercar value this side of the Atlantic: the Corvette Z06. Our pals over at Supercarmovies.com continue to amaze (and embarrass) us by making auto-centric cinematic masterpieces with production values that put everything else on the internet to shame. What we're trying to say is that these aren't your brother's YouTube vids.
Available to view in standard def or High Definition, the newest video lacks a plot like the memorable LP 640 film, but stars the Z06 tackling twisty roads somewhere in Europe. With that raucous V8 bouncing off the Old World's topography like a little kid in a library, you half expect the American icon to punt a MINI Cooper right off the mountain. But this is a movie, and the Z06 has no other traffic with which to contend, so it accelerates and brakes at leisure just like any American would on vacation. Click the gallery below courtesy of Supercarmovies.com for some excellent eye candy and hit the Source link to view the film itself.
