There’s still one month left until the 2023 Corvette Z06 debut event, but Chevy’s seen fit to give us a little taste of what’s in store for the C8 track day special. This morning, they posted the first official image of the car in a video on Twitter:
Comparing the new Z06 to the existing Stingray, a few differences are immediately apparent. The front fascia has been reworked, turning the base model’s grimacing three-part grille into a single, wide, fang-adorned mouth. While Chevy hasn’t mentioned the reasons behind any design changes, the new front end appears to have wider openings for cooling.
Similarly reworked are the side intakes, feeding the Corvette’s mid-mounted V8. The openings have been reshaped from the base Stingray, and given more black accents to distinguish them from the rest of the car.
Interestingly, the Z06 pictured here has a smaller rear wing than the Stingray’s Z51. Rumors say Chevy may offer a separate, more aggressive aero package on top of the Z06 trim level, and patent drawings seem to back up that claim.
Also unconfirmed are rumors of the Z06's powertrain. The leading contender is the 5.5-liter flat plane V8 related to the engine in the C8.R race car, making an above-race-spec 625 horsepower and as many as 500 ft-lbs of torque. That may be less than the 650 horsepower and torque of the C7 Z06, but you won’t be able to hear the keyboard warriors complain over the sound of eight cylinders wailing at 9,000 RPM.
With 29 days left until the full debut of the Z06, this tease certainly whets the appetite for more details on the upcoming car. With a base model as audacious as the C8 Stingray, expectations are high for the new top ‘Vette.