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2015 Corvette Z06: 650 Horsepower, 650 Pound-Feet Of Torque

When the 2015 Corvette Z06 originally broke cover at the 2014 North American International Auto Show six months ago, the power estimations were conservative. At the time, Chevrolet would *only* claim 625 horsepower and 625 foot-pounds of torque, with the subtle hint that there could be more after official SAE testing is done.

Guess what. SAE testing is done. And lordy, do we have ourselves a winner. Because officially, the 2015 Corvette Z06 is the most powerful production car GM has built, and will be one of the ten most powerful vehicles for sale in the United States of America for 2015.Officially, the power ratings rest at 650(!) horsepower of work rate @ 6,400 RPM and 650(!) foot-pounds of twisting force at 3,600 RPM, thanks to its incredibly power-dense 6.2L LT4 supercharged V8 engine. In fact, it’s more powerful than the SRT Viper, McLaren 650S and Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4. The $295,000 Ferrari FF hardly beats it, at 651 hp.

Pretty sure what you’re hearing now is the Star Spangled Banner beautifully emanating from the dyno charts.

The new LT4 is the driving force of the 2015 Z06. This jet engine disguised as a supercharged V8 has 457 lb-ft (619 Nm) just off idle and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) at only 2,800 rpm. The V-12-powered Ferrari Berlinetta, for example, produces about 28 percent less torque than the Z06, despite offering about 12 percent more horsepower – and its peak torque isn’t achieved until 6,000 rpm. The LT4 maintains 90 percent of its peak torque, or 592 lb-ft (802 Nm), from 2,500 to 5,400 rpm. Such is the nature of forced induction.

Compared to its LS-engine predecessors, the 2015 Z06 produces 40 percent more peak torque (180 lb-ft / 244 Nm) than the previous-generation’s 7.0L LS7 engine – and 7.5 percent more than the supercharged 2013 Corvette ZR1’s 604 lb-ft (819 Nm). At 3,200 rpm, the new LT4 surpasses the LS7 by 208 lb-ft of torque (252 Nm). On the horsepower side of the graph, the LT4’s 650-hp rating is 29 percent greater than the LS7’s 505 horsepower (376 kW), and 12 horses more than the ZR1’s LS9 engine. That’s evolution. And don’t forget, it’s the only vehicle that will be on sale with over 650 hp/lb-ft which will channel its power through either a seven-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

Now, about that 0-60 time…

Former staff.

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Comments

  1. That’s awesome, I just hope team vette can get that 0-60 time down to at least 3.2 seconds.

    Reply
  2. Oh my… im smiling like a 6th grade school girl with a crush! Bring on the comparisons! Any guesses to the base price? 100k?

    Reply
    1. I would guess that the base will be sub-$100k; probably around $95k.
      It will go north of that real quick though. The old ZR1 (sometimes) came in around $130, so I would guess the same.

      $95,000-$150,000 with an average around $125,000 I would guess.

      Reply
  3. I see no issue for 3 second 0-60 times.

    The key is putting the power down and this car should do this well.

    This car is the complete package and should do many things amazingly well. Too many other cars that put out this much power lack in the ability to use it. This one will not.

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  4. C’mon now, AWESOME MACHINE……we need to know the PRICING, gotta start saving my kids inheritance !!!

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  5. That’s a Rocket!!Houston we have a problem….

    Reply
  6. 650 ft/lb

    Someday GM will need to make an AWD Corvette out of necessity because off the line traction, even when not racing, will be difficult.

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  7. Well AWD is a trade off as it would add cost, eat HP and more weight. For these reasons Tadge has been reluctant.

    Besides their launch control has bee pretty good and can still be improved even more.

    Look for a even higher HP in a future unannounced model. It will also have an even more advanced traction system.

    There is a L88 coming that we have yet to see.

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  8. Okay fellas, lets not bother about 0-60 times vs the GT-R and 911Turbo S. Why? Well because this ZO6 will simply trash their asses around any track with the Z07 package. Further, in the 0-150mph run, both of them will be whip positively for sure. Along with the 1 mile run.

    Now to everyone who like praise AWD. The main advantage, was off the line performance and traction around the track. Yes, it use to be a major advantage until this Electronic Differential came into play. Also, what everyone need to research for themselves and know, is that all these AWD cars are whip by RWD cars with similar or more power, with good transmissions, sticky tires and now Electronic Differential around most tracks around the world.

    Reason. Well when a car gets going and traction is gain, the car that has power going to less wheels, generate more trust than the car with power going to all four wheels. This translate to greater midrange acceleration for the RWD car.

    Reply
    1. I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to motor sports, but aren’t F1 cars RWD only? If so, then that would basically make AWD unnecessary for performance cars, cause I’m pretty sure you won’t find anything faster than an F1 car.

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  9. The sheer fact that the LT4 makes 457 ft lbs @ Idle speed is simply asinine, that’s basically the LT1’s total max torque! The engineers did an excellent job with the tuning of this engine and it can still be daily driven!

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  10. I wonder what the MPG #s will be.

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    1. Unless I’m mistaken, all mk2 LT blocks can deactivate 4 cylinders to improve fuel economy when the engine is not being used for interstellar travel.

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      1. @ Grawd

        So, when not traveling to other galaxies, do you think that this motor will stay in 4-cyl mode longer, since it has a S/C to give it more power per cylinder (vs the N/A LT1), and potentially be AS, or maybe more, efficient (in the hwy at least) than the base Stingray?

        Stingray: 455-460 hp, 227~230 hp in 4-cyl mode
        C7 Z06: 650 hp, 325 hp in 4-cyl mode

        Or is this a too simplistic (and wishful lol) way of looking at it?

        Reply
        1. I would think if a fuel economy test between the Stingray and the Z06 was conducted using only the 4 cylinder mode, that the Stingray would win.

          The supercharger, despite its advantages, doesn’t help fuel economy as its parasitic loss negatively effects the engines fuel economy. That, and because the LT4 is under boost all the time, it’s fuel-air ratio is going to demand a richer mixture than the leaner mixed, naturally aspirated Stingray.

          Also, I don’t think dividing the engine HP figures in 2 is an accurate way to measure the performance of the Stingray and Z06 when in 4 cylinder mode. Forced induction (supercharging and turbocharging) distorts the measure of an engine’s output, so when compared with a naturally aspirated engine (no super or turbo) the numbers appear higher. There’s likely a slew of other factors that would make one engine more efficient in 4 cylinder mode than the other.

          So yeah, it is kinda simplistic and wishful thinking, but it’s not your fault. I’m guilty of the same kind of thinking too, but it’s nothing to worry about. Generally, the more powerful and faster car is also harder on gas. The more things the engine has to do besides move the car forward (belt-driven accessories, turbos and supers, air conditioning, heavy live loads), also hurt fuel economy.

          In other words, the supercharger is there for deep space travel, but it hurts fuel economy.

          Reply
          1. Tad get said that the engine can run on 4 cylinders off boost, 8 cylinders off boost, or 8 cylinders boosted.

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          2. I guess we’ll see when the official figures come out.

            Reply
  11. whats the projected curbweight on this thing again? Isnt it like 3400?

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  12. valiance Holder writes: “Reason. Well when a car gets going and traction is gain, the car that has power going to less wheels, generate more trust than the car with power going to all four wheels. This translate to greater midrange acceleration for the RWD car.”
    Really? What utter nonsense. Traction force is equal to the normal force multiplied by the static coefficient of friction between the rubber of the tire and the particular road surface the tire is rolling on. If the following is known: the normal force (the wheel pressure on the ground), torque at the wheels, the static coefficient of friction for the road surface, the frontal area of the car, drag coefficient of the body and the Reynolds Number, the rate at which the car will accelerate can be fairly accurately calculated.
    AWD will give more overall traction force, and make the car accelerate at a faster rate. With RWD the front wheels are a drag and actually slows the car down a bit. The reason top fuel dragsters are so long, and with the engine in the rear, is to get as much normal force on the traction wheels as possible. The front wheels are skinny and light for less drag.
    Further, a car does not generate any “trust”. (Merriam Webster Dic.: belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc.)
    There is a concept called “thrust force”, which is an aerodynamic term for the “pushing force” of a propeller or jet engine. Last time I checked most cars seemed to be wheel driver, except for few Land Speed Record racers; Thrust SSC and Thrust 2.

    Reply

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