Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From the Louisville Courier-Journal:
Power boost
Corvette Z06 adds 100 horses to top 190 mph
By Robert Schoenberger
rschoenberger@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
DETROIT — For most drivers, a Chevrolet Corvette is overkill. With 400 horsepower that gets it to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, it's more car than any of us need.
But Dave Hill, the car's engineer, said some drivers will want even more, so he designed the Z06 high-performance version of the Corvette. Scheduled to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today, the 2006 Z06 uses 500 horsepower to help reach a top speed of 190 mph.
"We wanted this to be at home at any racetrack in the world," Hill said of the vehicle.
Built in Bowling Green, Ky., the Z06 is significantly more powerful than Chevrolet's previous high-performance Corvettes. Hill said the car falls in the increasingly crowded field of super cars such as the Ford GT and Italian models with names like Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Chevrolet revived the Z06 name — a designation that had been used in the early 1960s — in 2001. Through 2004, Z06 models featured more horsepower and capability than the standard Corvette and cost about $52,000, about $9,000 more than base models. Despite the hefty price, Hill said Z06 models made up about one-fourth of Corvette sales.
Hill and his design team launched a redesigned Corvette last year for the 2005 model year, and the new model had almost as much capability as the 2004 Z06.
"That's why we really had to raise the bar with this one," Hill said. "We gave (traditional) Corvette buyers so much power last year, so we really had to top ourselves."
To reach 500 horsepower, Chevrolet gave the Z06 a hand-built, 7-liter V-8 engine. The traditional Corvette has a 6-liter V-8. To compensate for the engine's extra weight, Hill replaced the car's steel frame components with reinforced aluminum.
To give the vehicle the optimal even weight distribution between the front and rear, the battery had to be moved to the trunk to offset the extra engine weight.
General Motors won't announce the price of the Z06 until this summer, but executives promised it would be a bargain compared to the $140,000 Ford GT and other sports cars capable of 190 mph.
Although the market for such high-powered vehicles is small, several automakers are chasing it. Ford yesterday showed off its Shelby GR-1, a car that it has not committed to producing but would have a 10-cylinder engine, 605 horsepower and top speed of more than 200 mph.
More competition could come from a company not usually associated with high-powered sports cars — Toyota's Lexus luxury division.
Lexus yesterday unveiled its LF-A sports car, a vehicle that it said it may produce in the near future and is capable of reaching 200 mph.
"This car makes you feel younger and richer than you really are just by looking at it," said Jim Press, chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales. Although he did not provide specifications, Press said the LF-A uses new engine technologies to keep size and weight down while offering excessive amounts of power.
Also unveiled yesterday was a future version Ford's Louisville-built Explorer Sport Trac sports truck. To be launched either late this year as a 2006 model or next year as 2007 model, the Sport Trac shown will update the vehicle first launched for the 2001 model year.
Possibly competing against the new Sport Trac could be the Jeep Gladiator, a sports truck unveiled yesterday by DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group.
Like the Sport Trac, the Gladiator has two rows of seats and a truck bed attached to a frame meant for driving off road. Unlike the Ford, the Gladiator features a diesel engine, the same engine offered in the Jeep Liberty small sport utility vehicle.
Power boost
Corvette Z06 adds 100 horses to top 190 mph
By Robert Schoenberger
rschoenberger@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
DETROIT — For most drivers, a Chevrolet Corvette is overkill. With 400 horsepower that gets it to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, it's more car than any of us need.
But Dave Hill, the car's engineer, said some drivers will want even more, so he designed the Z06 high-performance version of the Corvette. Scheduled to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today, the 2006 Z06 uses 500 horsepower to help reach a top speed of 190 mph.
"We wanted this to be at home at any racetrack in the world," Hill said of the vehicle.
Built in Bowling Green, Ky., the Z06 is significantly more powerful than Chevrolet's previous high-performance Corvettes. Hill said the car falls in the increasingly crowded field of super cars such as the Ford GT and Italian models with names like Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Chevrolet revived the Z06 name — a designation that had been used in the early 1960s — in 2001. Through 2004, Z06 models featured more horsepower and capability than the standard Corvette and cost about $52,000, about $9,000 more than base models. Despite the hefty price, Hill said Z06 models made up about one-fourth of Corvette sales.
Hill and his design team launched a redesigned Corvette last year for the 2005 model year, and the new model had almost as much capability as the 2004 Z06.
"That's why we really had to raise the bar with this one," Hill said. "We gave (traditional) Corvette buyers so much power last year, so we really had to top ourselves."
To reach 500 horsepower, Chevrolet gave the Z06 a hand-built, 7-liter V-8 engine. The traditional Corvette has a 6-liter V-8. To compensate for the engine's extra weight, Hill replaced the car's steel frame components with reinforced aluminum.
To give the vehicle the optimal even weight distribution between the front and rear, the battery had to be moved to the trunk to offset the extra engine weight.
General Motors won't announce the price of the Z06 until this summer, but executives promised it would be a bargain compared to the $140,000 Ford GT and other sports cars capable of 190 mph.
Although the market for such high-powered vehicles is small, several automakers are chasing it. Ford yesterday showed off its Shelby GR-1, a car that it has not committed to producing but would have a 10-cylinder engine, 605 horsepower and top speed of more than 200 mph.
More competition could come from a company not usually associated with high-powered sports cars — Toyota's Lexus luxury division.
Lexus yesterday unveiled its LF-A sports car, a vehicle that it said it may produce in the near future and is capable of reaching 200 mph.
"This car makes you feel younger and richer than you really are just by looking at it," said Jim Press, chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales. Although he did not provide specifications, Press said the LF-A uses new engine technologies to keep size and weight down while offering excessive amounts of power.
Also unveiled yesterday was a future version Ford's Louisville-built Explorer Sport Trac sports truck. To be launched either late this year as a 2006 model or next year as 2007 model, the Sport Trac shown will update the vehicle first launched for the 2001 model year.
Possibly competing against the new Sport Trac could be the Jeep Gladiator, a sports truck unveiled yesterday by DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group.
Like the Sport Trac, the Gladiator has two rows of seats and a truck bed attached to a frame meant for driving off road. Unlike the Ford, the Gladiator features a diesel engine, the same engine offered in the Jeep Liberty small sport utility vehicle.
