In 1987, Ferrari announced a new supercar and the world went quiet. Four decades after the first Ferrari road car, the F40 shocked the automotive establishment, a car with racing DNA, composite construction, twin-turbo V8, and astonishing performance. The F40 not only reached 60 mph in 4.0 seconds, it was the first production car to break the 200 mph barrier.So what if we told you, around 20 years after the F40 became the pinnacle of performance motoring, an everyday sports car would hit the market that was very nearly as quick in a straight line, with similar power, and a top speed not far off the Maranello legend? Then, what if we told you that this model can now be picked up for around $20,000 in 2026, whereas an F40 will cost you around $2,500,000? Quite literally, this budget daily has no business being this fast — or this cheap. Now where's my checkbook? The C6 Corvette Actually Made Supercar Speed Affordable Bring A TrailerThe fifth-generation Corvette was one of the biggest shake-ups for the all-American sports car since the '60s. Just as the C1 went from stylish boulevard cruiser to race-bred C2, under Zora Arkus-Duntov's guidance, the C5 shook off the cruisy, Miami Beach image of the C4 with something more focused that would take on the best of Europe. The C6's job was to build on this new, focused direction when it arrived in 2005.The problem was that the C5 had been such a gamechanger, there wasn't a whole lot of game to change just ten years later — how could Chevy make a big statement with the new 'Vette? The answer was to fit the most powerful standard engine the Corvette had ever seen. It was called the LS2, and it offered supercar performance for family sedan money. The C6 Was More Than Just A C5 Facelift Bring A Trailer When it arrived, the 2005 Corvette could be seen as an evolution of the C5, or, more unfairly, as a rehash of its predecessor. True, there were similarities to the basic architecture, but the C6 was five inches shorter and an inch narrower, with a more sculpted appearance, improved interior and new suspension that included improved shock absorbers, with the length of travel increased by 0.3 inch at the front and 0.8 inch to the rear.It was also a touch lighter too, and featured fixed headlights rather than pop-up units for the first time since the '60s. In fairness to Chevy, Dave Hill and his crew had done such a good job with the C5, there wasn't any need to completely redesign the car. One place that GM could flex its engineering muscles was in the engine department, however. The C6 arrived with the new LS2 engine, connected to either a Tremec T-56 six-speed or a four-speed automatic. Here's What Made The LS2 Corvette Special Bring A TrailerThe small block LS2, which debuted in the C6, may have been based on the LS1, but it had new tech and improvements such as the Active Fuel Management system. The aluminum cylinder block casting was all-new, as well as a slight bump in displacement. There is also a cylinder head design derived from the C5 Z06, 34% lighter exhaust manifolds, and compression raised to 10.9:1.The result was the most powerful standard engine ever in Corvette history, pumping out 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. That might not sound like that much in 2026, when SUVs have 600 horsepower, but a few years back, this was serious clout. To put it into perspective, the aforementioned F40 (aka the fastest car in the world in the late '80s) has 478 horsepower and 426 lb-ft of torque. Or to put it another way, the Ferrari 360 Modena that had just ended production in 2005 had the same 400 horsepower, but only 275 lb-ft of torque. The Corvette C6 Had Supercar Power You Could Use Everyday Bring A Trailer 2005 LS2 Chevrolet Corvette Specs Chevrolet/ Independent testsFollowing on from the user-friendly sportiness of the C5, the C6 was a Corvette you could use every day, with well-thought-out ergonomics, good visibility, and almost 30 mpg if you took it easy. You even had the option of a lazy auto' if you wanted. But open the taps and the base C6 was a supercar chaser. The C6 can, on a good day, charge to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, and the top speed is a wild 186 mph. With the Z51 Performance suspension package (which included larger stabilizer bars, improved dampers, and cross-drilled brake rotors) you had a base car that wasn't that far off the C5 Z06, but it wasn't Chevy who was worried, it was other manufacturers. How The C6 Stacked Up Against Much More Expensive Competition2006 C6 Chevrolet Corvette 7True, the new Ferrari 458 Italia could hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and reach a top speed of 200 mph, but that came at quite a cost - around $230,000 to be precise. The 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera (997.1) hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and that cost around $74,360. A $117,150 Aston Martin Vantage hits 60 mph in 5.1 seconds (and 175 mph flat out), while a $109,720 Audi R8 reaches the same speed in 4.3 seconds (and 187 mph). So how much would you expect to part with in 2005 for a C6 Chevrolet Corvette with an LS2 under the hood, a car which has the measure on many of the above? That would be $43,500, which is less than half the price of most, and a fifth of the price of the 458 Italia. Prices Of C6 Corvettes Now Bring A Trailer The C6 with an LS2 mill offers supercar performance for hatchback money. A base 2005 Chevrolet Corvette coupe will cost $22,900 in good condition, with the convertible model coming in even cheaper at $22,000, according to Hagerty Valuation Tools. A 2006 coupe costs $23,600, with the drop-top again cheaper at $22,700. On the marketplace there are even cheaper LS2 Corvettes available, with a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette coupe with 59,000 miles selling recently on Bringatrailer.com for just $15,000.It is worth noting that for the 2006 model year, General Motors introduced the new Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed automatic to replace the ho-hum four-speed. And for even more bangs for your buck, in 2008, the C6's LS2 was replaced with the all-new LS3 in base form. The C6 now made 430 horsepower and 424 lb-ft of torque, with the dual-mode exhaust system increasing output to 436 horsepower and 434 lb-ft. The sprint in the base C6 to 60 mph was now down to just 4.0 seconds, and the top speed a whopping 190 mph — from a base Corvette! The base 2008 LS3 Corvette in good condition cost $29,300, says Hagerty Valuation Tools. One thing is for certain, for the price of a new Toyota Corolla (roughly $24,000) you can have an American supercar that would be able to keep up with a lot of supercars of the '90s and 2000s.Sources: Hagerty.com