Chevrolet Reveals Obscene Official Power Figures for the New Corvette Z06
Way back in January, Chevrolet pulled the cover off the latest, C7-based Corvette Z06. And while the news that it would have a removable roof panel (and, as would be announced at the New York Auto Show in April, a convertible version will be joining the lineup), a downsized forced-induction engine in place of the C6 Z06’s raw and unboosted 7.0L brawler and – horror of horrors – an optional automatic transmission caused distress in some circles, word that that new supercharged 6.2L V8 (dubbed LT4) seen below would be making a minimum of 625 horsepower and 635 lb.-ft of torque calmed many an acolyte’s nerves. After all, those figures were knocking right on the door of the ones put up by the C6 ZR1 (638 horsepower and 604 lb.-ft).
Well, guess what: The definitive production-trim power figures have gone straight from knocking on the door to jump-kicking that f***er down. Per the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE’s) current prescribed dyno testing protocol, the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06’s LT4 produces 650 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft of torque. In other words, the new Z06 usurps the previous ZR1’s records as the most powerful production Corvette ever and the most powerful GM production car ever. It also puts the Z06 in some pretty elite supercar company, as you can see in the Chevrolet-compiled chart below.
But back to that torque figure: A full 457 lb.-ft is available from just above idle, while at least 592 lb.-ft – or 90% of the peak figure – is available between 2,500 and 5,400 rpm. Any fatter and that torque curve (pictured below on the dyno chart) would have even Jillian Michaels saying “You’re beyond help, you heifer.” Furthermore, if the Z06 is putting these kinds of numerals on the scoreboard, how foaming-at-the-mouth loco is the C7 ZR1 (which will reportedly use a twin-turbo version of the Gen V Small Block) going to be?
Source: Chevrolet