This is, without a doubt, the best Corvette ever made. Let’s just get that out of the way first. Forget about the base C7 and forget about the hardcore ZR1. This is the ultimate do-it-all Corvette wrapped in one amazing package. It’s a great road car and probably the best track car ever made. What makes it so amazing? Well, here are just 10 reasons, although there are probably a hundred more.
1. It’s available both as a coupe and as a convertible. Chevrolet decided to introduce a convertible Z06 for the first time and not limit its customers to the coupe variant alone. Although most enthusiasts will still go for the coupe, the convertible is a great option for anyone not planning any regular visits to the track.
2. It’s got tons of horsepower and a mountain of torque. Or, to be specific, 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. That’s stock and out of the showroom complete with a warranty. Not many manufacturers can offer that at the moment. What’s more, the supercharged V8 has plenty of headroom for even more. Many owners are actually getting upwards of 700 horsepower with just a few simple mods to unlock and free-up the engine.
3. It’s got an abundance of technology on board. The Performance Data Recorder is great if you track the car, and it comes with a password-protected valet mode as well. Naturally, Apple CarPlay is standard and so is 4G LTE. The 650-hp, 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is one of the most capable vehicles on the market, capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in only 2.95 seconds, achieving 1.2 g in cornering acceleration, and braking from 60-0 mph in just 99.6 feet.
4. Magnetic suspension. We don’t know quite how it works, but it manages to make the car soft and compliant on the road and stiff on the track. Seriously, it feels like two completely different cars at times, it’s that good.
5. Acceleration, acceleration, acceleration. The sprint to 60 mph takes just 3 seconds, and you won’t find any car south of $80k capable of doing that. Now talk about bang for your buck.
6. You can actually build the car yourself. For a very small fee you can spend an entire day at the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, KY, and help the assembly line crew in building your own dream car. You’ll be able to take delivery of it next door at the National Corvette Museum. It’s a great experience.
7. The new eight-speed is lighting quick, miles better than the old auto in the C6, but we simply cannot get over how good the seven-speed manual is. It sounds one gear too many, but it isn’t. You only use six most of the time, seventh is just there to boost fuel economy on the highway and make this a decent daily driver.
8. Customization is the name of the game with this Corvette. It’s got 3 different aero packages on offer and several different interior trim levels. You can completely build the car to your liking.
9. It’s a car with pedigree. Corvette recently got a 1-2 finish at the Rolex 24hr in Daytona and if that isn’t a testament to this car’s on-track capability, we don’t know what is.
10. Great fuel economy. As mentioned before, this car returns amazing mpg whether you go for the auto or the manual. Although 22 mpg isn’t brilliant when compared to something like a Prius, it’s borderline unbelievable compared to other cars of this caliber, most of which struggle to get into two-digit figures.
