Chevrolet has issued its first official images of the updated 2023 Corvette C8 Z06, its go-faster, flat-plane crank V8 assault on the supercar establishment.
It gets a fussier, more aggressive snout punctuated by larger intakes and pointier profile. The side intakes appear to have been given a bigger lick of carbon fibre trim. The rear bumper appears to look a little more rounded, too.
Regular NZ Autocar readers might have already seen this car in action, following earlier reports of it being spotted testing at the Nurburgring with heavy camouflage. Comparing the old pictures to the new, it seems Chevrolet has elected to tone down the model’s rear wing. But this looks to be the only tweak.
The C8 Corvette’s souped-up variants are a long time coming for commentators who foresaw the nameplate’s shift to a mid-engined format as a chance for it to take on the likes of Ferrari and McLaren directly.
And … that’s the release. Chevrolet has shared no other details of the new Corvette; barring more plugs for the 2023 Corvette’s official launch on October 26.
It’s speculated that the Z06 will also come with a new flat-plane crank V8 engine. According to a purported information leak, it’s a 5.5-litre unit derived from the engine used by Chevrolet’s IMSA division, set to produce around 466kW of power and rev all the way to 9000rpm.
That speculation has more or less been confirmed by numerous releases of audio from Chevrolet. The audio clearly depicts the presence of a flat-plane crank V8, ensuring the next-gen Z06 will sound more like a Ferrari than a traditional bowtie product.
We just hope a few of them make it to little New Zealand. Given that the country’s first allocation of Corvettes has already sold out before they’ve even arrived, hopefully that puts us in good stead…
