Nothing to be astonished about, though. The C6 actually beat the Aston Martin DBR9 to take victory in its class at Le Mans. Then it went to the Nurburgring and kicked some more backsides. In true vindictive fashion, the Z06 clocked a time that was two seconds quicker than a Pagani Zonda, eight seconds quicker than a Murcielago and ten faster than a Mclaren. This from a car that costs just a fraction of the above-mentioned exotics. 65,000 dollars is what you pay for the Z06, which in supercar exchange rates is pocket money. Admission to the fast show just got cheaper.
And yet, if you happen to go over a crack in the road, you would think you would have made it past a crevice that would’ve taken you to the centre of the earth. The ride is so harsh, it’s as if your backbone is an integral stressed member of the suspension. Someone’s gone and filled the dampers with cement.
But apart from the overly firm ride and the plasticky interiors, it’s all warm praise from me. And you know what, the fastest ever bow-tie this side of James Bond is now actually pretty high up in the waiting list of my million-dollar garage.
Now consider this. 1500 rpm in sixth gear equates to 70 mph (112 kph). In that case, 3000 rpm would equate to 140 mph (224 kph)! But this engine revs to 6000 rpm, so what’s 140 times two? Of course, that speed is theoretical, but it should convey how ridiculously relaxed and under-stressed the Vette is while cruising.
So when your first gear is good enough to better the national speed limit, you really are pushing your luck every single time you nail that loud pedal. Besides, when you are behind the wheel of the fastest ever Corvette, you really need to have a halo atop your head not to behave like a roadrunner. So even though I was probably faster than a few planes in the vicinity, a Chevy Impala was faster. You see, it came with the best go-faster accessories money can’t buy. Like a pair of blue-and-red beacons and a speed gun.
As for the money, it’s not so bad – I tend to think of the ticket as a Certificate of Authenticity. Damn! Couldn’t they at least have written Z06 on it?
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