CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06

Chevrolet didn’t move the Corvette’s engine behind the cabin for the valets at Musso and Frank’s. The big move is more for the Z06 and its new 670-hp

LT6 double-overhead-cam 5.5-liter flat-plane-crankshaft V-8. This tribute to piston speeds makes that power at 8400 rpm on its way to an 8600-rpm rev cut. Those numbers make it the most powerful naturally aspirated V-8 ever installed in a production car, which it turns out was an engineering goal. To get it to breathe at low and high revs there’s a three-valve, two-plenum intake atop the engine that’s optimized for low-end torque, high rpm, and everything between. An eight-speed dual-clutch transmission promises lightning-quick shifts, but like the regular Stingray, there’ll be no manual.

We’ve heard the engine, and it’ll almost make you forgive the Corvette for its missing third pedal. The Z06 should reach 60 mph in the mid-twosecond range and pass through the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds. Wider fenders are home to meatier rubber (275/30ZR-20 front and 345/25ZR-21 rear), and the Z06 will come with standard 14.6-inch front and 15.0-inch rear brake rotors. Larger carbon-ceramic units are part of the track-focused

Z07 package that also adds aero bits and unlocks the option of carbon-fiber wheels wrapped in track-focused Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires developed specifically for the Z06. During development, Chevy benchmarked the 2010–15 Ferrari 458 Italia, because that Ferrari also used a high-revving flat-planecrank V-8. The Corvette Z06 is arriving later this fall, and it’s poised to be the most Ferrari-like Corvette of all time.