Simply 48 hours in the past we named the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 the Motor Authority Greatest Automotive To Purchase 2024. America’s sports activities automobile has claimed prime honors every time it certified for the competitors, profitable Motor Authority Greatest Automotive To Purchase 2017 and Motor Authority Greatest Automotive To Purchase 2019. This time it received our group over with its unique engine, intoxicating exhaust be aware, and world-beating driving dynamics. The vote from our editorial group was unanimous.

However the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 isn’t excellent. No car is. It might be higher. Right here’s how.

Give it a guide transmission

The C8 Corvette’s notable lack of a guide transmission nonetheless hurts our collective soul. Nonetheless, the 8-speed dual-clutch computerized transmission is a gem that cracks off lightning-quick shifts. In a 0-60 mph dash or on a observe, it will completely smoke a model with a guide. However from a driver engagement standpoint, the choice to #GiveAShift remains to be the want of many. We guess the take fee can be fairly excessive, too. Think about with the ability to run this flat-plane crank V-8 engine as much as its 8,600 rpm earlier than grabbing the following gear. Porsche is aware of no third pedal possibility on its GT3 was a mistake. What do you say, Chevrolet?

Does this appear like a Corvette?

Years after the C8’s debut, Editorial Director Marty Padgett remains to be adamant that the C8 doesn’t appear like a Corvette. The Z06 amplifies the C8’s unique form with bulked-up bodywork giving the automobile a wider physique. It’s all within the identify of operate to feed extra air into that wild engine. However the brief hood and lengthy rear finish borne out of the mid-engine powertrain structure connote Ferrari greater than Corvette. Nevertheless it’s not as elegant as a Ferrari, with harsh traces that give it a dude-racer perspective. Some softer traces would assist. 

Improve the inside

The Z06 is a $100,000-plus supercar. The loaded check automobile we hauled round a observe and again nation roads value $160,595, but it surely didn’t have an inside to match that value. It’d sing like a Ferrari, however the inside clearly hails from GM. The supplies are good sufficient, however this isn’t top-shelf leather-based, the stalks and head-up show buttons may as properly be out of some other Chevy, and the dozen-plus Chiclet-like buttons cascading down the middle console wall for the local weather management system are each arduous plastic and set inside a poor design. They’re additionally complicated and arduous to make use of whereas driving. At the least there are buttons and knobs for some key local weather and infotainment controls.

Difficult for the New Stability crowd

Appears I’m getting outdated. The groans and creaks that got here from me as I climbed out and in of the C8 Z06 would make my mates chortle. The wrestle will likely be actual for the New Stability and jean brief crowd that’s doubtless to purchase the Z06. The C8 Corvette is tough to get out and in of with that raked A-pillar, low experience peak, and mid-engine roofline, and that is exacerbated by the Competitors bucket seats our tester featured. The 911 is less complicated to get out and in of. 

Enhance the brake really feel

A lot of the editorial group favored the brakes on the Ford Mustang Darkish Horse greater than the carbon-ceramic brakes on the C8 Z06 throughout closing Greatest Automotive To Purchase 2024 testing. Senior editor Kirk Bell famous the Z06 brake pedal felt a bit picket because of the brake-by-wire implementation. Everybody on the group famous the brake system required us to recalibrate the place the preliminary chew got here in. This brought about Kirk to brake too late for the primary flip throughout two totally different periods. He bought used to it after that, however no person complains concerning the brake tuning of a Porsche. That isn’t to say these carbon ceramics aren’t sturdy. They’re greater than able to hauling the Z06 down from triple-digit speeds within the blink of an eye fixed; they merely lack the preliminary chew we want.

This a lot for a Chevy?

When a Corvette’s value of entry breaks $100,000 we increase our eyebrows. The Corvette is America’s perennial sports activities automobile, and it’s at all times stood for worth. With a beginning value of $113,190, which is way over the $106,395 it value a 12 months in the past, this isn’t your father’s Corvette. Nevertheless it’s a two-sided argument as a result of even at that value, it will probably embarrass vehicles that value twice that a lot on a racetrack. At an as-tested value of $160,595, the Z06 lacks the cachet that comes with the Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Porsche badges, however its efficiency per greenback merely can’t be argued right here. 

The C8 Z06 will in all probability go down in historical past as one of the crucial particular vehicles to ever put on the Corvette badge. Corvettes that come after this, together with the twin-turbo C8 ZR1 after which the electrified model be referred to as theed Zora, will likely be quicker and extra highly effective however which may not make them extra particular. It is a benchmark in historical past for the Corvette and that makes an important Greatest Automotive To Purchase winner, regardless of some minor flaws.