The great angry American dad sports car is reportedly about to get way, way angrier. A new rumor claims the upcoming mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette Z06 trim’s 5.5-liter flat-plane crank V8 will rip at over 9,000 RPM.
From Motor Trend:
The next Corvette Z06 will have a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter flat-plane twin-cam V-8 that spins to 9,000 rpm.
The report also “guesses” that the engine will put out around 625 horsepower (which is less than the C7-generation Z06 model) and possibly up to 500 lb-ft of torque. The current Chevy C8.R racecar is expected to already be driving with a version of the Z06's engine, tuned to 500 HP and 480 lb-ft of torque.
As the magazine points out, if the production car actually hits that RPM, it would be higher than famously-high-redline supercars like the current Lamborghini Huracan Evo and Aventador SVJ. It’s going to scream so loud grown ass men with families at car shows will be the ones begging the driver to “please” rev it some more.
The very-likely upcoming Z06 trim of the new C8 Corvette was previously suspected to get a twin-turbo version of a similar 5.5-liter V8. Now the Motor Trend report claims its sources within GM confirmed that engine is still coming, but probably as the ZR1 trim of the sports car:
What about those two turbochargers we thought we knew about? Well, turns out we were right, just about the wrong car. Like Chevy has done for the past two generations, there will be a high-horsepower ZR1 version of the C8. That car will get two turbochargers piped into its 5.5-liter engine (along with all the accompanying cooling hardware). We think 800 hp seems about right from this variant of the twin-cam engine.
From previous reports, we can also expect the new 9,000-RPM C8 Z06 to get updated bodywork over the current car that features more active aerodynamics, possibly as an optional package labeled the Z07. Muscle Cars And Trucks reported back in June that GM was also considering a complete exhaust overhaul of the C8 for the Z06 trim, which would include a redesigned rear fascia with a center-mounted exhaust. Sounds expensive, but GM should definitely do it.
The only real bummer is that the Z06 is reportedly not getting a big-ass wing like the C8.R. That’s a big mistake.
