News: 2015 Corvette Z06 Details Leaked!

[vetmaniac]

At the end of the day, the addition or continuation of any model is a business decision made in real-time. Tadge or Harlan have little to do with the go or no go for the new ZR1. The decision to fund that model, or any model, will be made on mahogany row by the CEO and Board. The sales of the base, the Z06, and the market will dictate final decision. Tadge has to be ready with the developed concept, producible product. Chevy brass has to make a case to go ahead. There is a lot of new faces at the top of GM, and many are Vette friendly, but who knows what that means?

Yep, the very same corporate types that almost torpedoed the Corvette product line back in 1954 when sales were bleak.

 

[Huskerman]

I think the story goes that after the success of the C6 Al frame Z06 and with sales in the 30K range for all models of Corvette someone said well if you can build that and sell it for $70K what can you do with a $100K Vette.
There was money and sales to develop the next level up. Right now they are building this new C7 line on speculation and if it goes big they will consider going up to the next level as sales level out.

No matter what they build it is still only as good as the economy will allow it to be. Toys are the first thing to go in the tough times and with the $200 million dollars the guberment spends every hour of every day over what the country brings in.....its just a matter of time before the chit hits the fan big time.......then we will see what happens......you can only print so much money before it becomes worthless........kinda off topic but relevant I think.....

 

[ltmax]

I think the story goes that after the success of the C6 Al frame Z06 and with sales in the 30K range for all models of Corvette someone said well if you can build that and sell it for $70K what can you do with a $100K Vette.
There was money and sales to develop the next level up. Right now they are building this new C7 line on speculation and if it goes big they will consider going up to the next level as sales level out.

No matter what they build it is still only as good as the economy will allow it to be. Toys are the first thing to go in the tough times and with the $200 million dollars the guberment spends every hour of every day over what the country brings in.....its just a matter of time before the chit hits the fan big time.......then we will see what happens......you can only print so much money before it becomes worthless........kinda off topic but relevant I think.....

You're right! It's not about model changes or the latest bling now. This economy is on "lifesupport" in the form of funny-money from the fed, which gets sloshed around according to their desires, not what's good for the nation. The national finances are terminal, that's a fact. The next "issue" will be a "currency crisis" like the one in Germany in 1923, with all it's effects on food supplies and everything else. What I'm amazed at is that nobody discusses the reality of this country post 2008, or all the fraud, lies and deceit that caused it. Whistling past the graveyard :z

 

[catbert]

The Z06 has always been a real bargain track-rat car among other things. I'm wondering if GM is going to have to price it out of reach for everyone but the former ZR buyers. When the C6Z went over $100K for the full zoot model it was like the Fonz jumping the shark. The bottom fell out of Z sales, and the Grand Sport became the backbone of Corvette sales. I can see a lot of excitement surrounding the new Z, and a large initial sales number, but I don't think it's going to be sustainable if the average as-delivered price nears $100K. That said, I can't wait for it to drub the Viper, and most everything else out there on the track. It should be a monster.

 

[Hib Halverson]

I think the story goes that after the success of the C6 Al frame Z06 and with sales in the 30K range for all models of Corvette someone said well if you can build that and sell it for $70K what can you do with a $100K Vette.
(snip)

Well....that's not exactly how it happened...but it's close.

Near the end of the Z06 development–well before the car went on sale–then CEO Rick Wagoner drove a development Z06 at the Proving Ground. He was very impressed–so much so that he asked the senior development engineers present something like, "if that's what you guys can do for 60 thousand, what can you do for 100,000?" That spawned the development project that resulted in the 2009 ZR-1 which, during development, was code-named "Blue Devil". Some say the name was picked because Wagoner was a graduate of Duke University.

 

[Evolution1980]

...it's strange to have a high-performance engine with peak power lower than it's peak torque number. The only way that can happen is if the power rating is taken at a point on the power curve below peak power or the engine has a very odd torque curve which peaks then drops off quickly, such as 650 lbs ft torque at 4000 rpm and only 510 lbs ft at 6400. That would make a peak power of 620. That would be uncharacteristic of a Roots supercharged engine which usually have torque curves which are flat as pancakes. For reference, the LS9 in C6 was 608-lbs/ft@3800 rpm and 638-hp@6500 rpm.

I'll be very surprised if GM takes a step back with the LT4 making 650-lbs/ft at 3800-4000 rpm and 620-hp@6500 rpm which would be exactly the opposite of what they did with the LT1.

Corvette Action Center | Research Center | C7 Corvette | 2015 Corvette Center | 2015: Corvette Z06: Preliminary Specifications
625 HP / 635 LB-FT.
So, are thouest "very surprised" by an uncharacteristic Roots-supercharged engine??

 

[Hib Halverson]

(slurp...belch)
Well, while I eat some acrid-tasting, grilled crow....I'll blame the 650-hp idea on bad intel I got a couple years ago. It's always easier to throw one of those "unnamed" sources under the bus.

Other interesting facts came out about the new LT4 is it uses a smaller-displacement blower than did the 3G ZR1, but it runs at a higher rotor speed.

I'm dying to know how much the engine weighs and what the whole car weighs.

 

[Rob]

(slurp...belch)

I'm dying to know how much the engine weighs and what the whole car weighs.

And I thought I was the only one foaming at the mouth in anticipation of learning the curb weight of the Z06. I would love to see it come in....ohhhhhh.....let's say another 100 lbs less than the standard coupe/convertible.

Then maybe all of the Euro-loving weenies will finally admit that their OHC/DOHC sports cars are...*COUGH*....inferior to the "antique" pushrod architecture in the Corvette.

Reading some of the comments today on various European car rags (toilet paper rolls), I have to laugh at the comments being made about Corvette still using old, outdated, antiquated pushrod technology. And yet, the Corvette still continues to take chunks out of Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc., like a rabid Doberman feasting on a filet.

 

[ltmax]

'15 z

Disappointed... not at the power figures and certainly not at the aerodynamic upgrades, but:

> having to resort to a blower? They couldn't get decent power out of a nicely upgraded LT engine such as, oh... a 396? Like they did with the LS7?
> A friggin torque-converter auto trans?! Really? In a Z 06? GM just can't do a decent dual-clutch?
> The luxury of a removable top? In a Z 06? It already has air conditioning....
> My opinion: How much more bling does this Vette need to be slathered with?! I've already said that the Viper-like frown face has got to go. Now it has horizontal teeth! Yeah, yeah, it directs more air to the intercooler... ho boy... Car has more vents than an outdoor A/C unit and more lines and creases than Kieth Richards! Put the pen down, step away from the drafting board.

Well I'll look forward to more data, like the wieght. I guess with a 300lb auto trans, we can't shame the Camaro dudes too much...

I'm hoping for refinements as the year goes on. Track times, of course, will tell all.

Onward >>>>

 

[Evolution1980]

Disappointed... not at the power figures and certainly not at the aerodynamic upgrades, but:

> having to resort to a blower? They couldn't get decent power out of a nicely upgraded LT engine such as, oh... a 396? Like they did with the LS7?
> A friggin torque-converter auto trans?! Really? In a Z 06? GM just can't do a decent dual-clutch?
> The luxury of a removable top? In a Z 06? It already has air conditioning....

"Blowers" - Efficiency across the board. If you can generate the same power with better efficiency, then the cubes aren't needed. Yes, "There is no replacement for displacement." Take a bigger engine and then force-feed it, you'll have more power. But that's not the point here. They had certain criteria to meet a goal. Using the supercharger got to them to that goal in a more efficient manner than additional cubes. Keep in mind, the criteria likely wasn't just a HP/Tq number. It also likely included fuel-efficiency. And fuel-efficiency isn't inherantly a bad thing. All things being relatively equal, the LT1 engineering is more efficient across the board than the L88 engineering. Would the rational person really take an L88 design over an LT1 design? "I don't care how you get to the numbers, as long as you get there. If you can do it with less fuel consumption, that's just icing on the cake!"

"Auto trans" - Technology advances. See above. If the ultimate goal is track performance (drag or roadcourse) and the car can shift faster than you with a clutch and know/interpret when there's a need to shift, you & the car will be faster around the track. And for those that have to have a manual for whatever reason, that option is still there.

"Removable top" - Not everytime I take out my car am I heading to the track and require the additional chassis stiffening that the roof provides. Maybe I want to just cruise my showboat around down with the top off. Again, it's simply an option. Don't remove it if ya don't want to. For everyone else, they can have the best of both worlds.

----
I've said it many times before around here...and this isn't specific towards you... People complain when Chevy offers almost no options for the Vette. And an equal number seem to complain when there are many options for the Vette. I'm in the "give me options" crowd. I don't fully understand why everyone isn't. If ya don't want 'em, don't get 'em. "There! Option problem solved!"

 

[6 Shooter]

"There! Option problem solved!"

​

 

[67vet]

I'd rather have the option to choose Options.