GMSV hopeful of late-2023 local launch for 500kW Z06 supercar, but details still to be ironed out
First examples of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 supercar could arrive in Australia as soon as the final quarter of this year.
Supply issues, production shutdowns at the Bowling Green Plant and overwhelming US demand have slowed the arrival of the mid-engined 500kW coupe in Australia, which local distributor GM Special Vehicles (GMSV) originally hoped to have here by mid-2023.
“It’s still being firmed up in terms of arrivals and production but we are hoping before the end of this year,” GMSV director Greg Rowe told carsales.
“We are still firming up those production schedules and timings to bring them in.
“In terms of how the production is going to flow and arrivals that’s yet to be confirmed.”
Rowe said GMSV had even instructed its dealers not to take deposits for the Z06 until the situation was clarified.
Rowe was speaking at a media preview of a prototype right-hand drive 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 show car that will make its Australian public debut at the Corvette Nationals in Ballarat this weekend.
Rowe told carsales an exact start of production, production numbers, specification and pricing were still being sorted with Chevrolet in the US.
“We’ll be able to talk more about all that as production firms up, but this vehicle has been brought in to indicatively show what will be sold in Australia,” Rowe said.
The Z06 will only be sold as a coupe with a removeable hard-top and not the more expensive convertible, Rowe confirmed.
carsales expects the Z06 to be priced somewhere in the region of $250,000 when orders are opened.
Delivery numbers are expected to be extremely limited, with one GMSV dealer telling carsales as few as “20 to 30” could show up here in the first 12 months.
Dealers also estimate the standard C8 Corvette Stingray still has a waiting list estimated between 12 and 24 months, despite first production right-hand drive examples rolling into Aussie showrooms early in 2022.
GMSV has previously confirmed Z06 production cars will be model year 2024 and come standard with the top-spec 3LZ interior trim package.
But while Rowe confirmed 3LZ once more, he said it was still to be clarified if some early Z06 deliveries would be MY23s.
“We are working through that at the moment to understand exactly where we sit,” he said.
Rowe could also not confirm if the Z07 performance package and Carbon Revolution wheels fitted to the show car would be available to Australian buyers.
“We’ve been lucky to be able to bring that in on the show car,” he said.
carsales understands the chances are strong these options will come.
Rowe also admitted Australian outputs may vary slightly because our car comes with a different exhaust fitted with a petrol particulate filter. You can pick it by the outboard outlets rather than the quad centre outlets fitted to the US-spec Z06.
The show car is being used to validate local output numbers.
The different exhaust also means the Aussie Z06 loses the noise reflectors designed to amplify the sounds of the unique engine in the cabin.
The 3LZ trim pack includes a steering wheel beautified with carbon-fibre, shift paddles made from carbon-fibre, sueded microfibre on the upper interior trim, leather-wrapped interior door panels and instrument panel, as well as GT2 bucket seats with Nappa leather upholstery and carbon-fibre garnish.
The Z07 performance package includes larger brakes with carbon-ceramic rotors, carbon-fibre aerodynamic elements, unique suspension tuning and ultra-performance Michelin Cup R tyres.
The Australian-made Carbon Revolution carbon-fibre wheels are an option only available after the Z07 box is ticked.
The C8 is the eighth-generation Corvette, the first to be mid-engined and the first to come to Australia. This is the fifth-generation Z06, which first appeared in 1963 as a racing special. It remains a track-focused model.
An all-new naturally-aspirated LT6 5.5-litre DOHC V8 engine is at the heart of the Z06. It punches out 500kW at 8400rpm and 623Nm at 6300rpm, eclipsing the power (but not torque number) of the 369kW/637Nm 6.2-litre pushrod LT2 V8 in the Stingray.
Key LT6 features include a dry sump, flat-plane crankshaft, an all-aluminium block, forged aluminium pistons and titanium conrods. It is the most powerful naturally aspirated production V8 ever made.
Other Z06 features include an eight-speed Tremec dual-clutch transmission with shorter final drive than the Stingray, a 2.6sec 0-60mph (97km/h) time, a 10.6sec quarter mile and a 320km/h top speed.
The Z06 is 100kg lighter than the Stingray, runs larger brakes with six-piston callipers and the largest-diameter wheels (20-inch front/21-inch rear) ever fitted to a Corvette. Adaptive Magnetic Ride Control suspension damping is standard.
Chevrolet claims the new Z06 generates six per cent more downforce and eight per cent less drag than its front-engined rear-wheel drive C7 predecessor.
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Keyword: 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 set for Aussie launch this year