Last week, Jeremy Clarkson tweeted a photo of the 2015 Corvette Z06 he had gotten his hands on for a review. He loved the standard C7 Corvette, so we figured he’d have even more good things to say about the ‘Big Nasty’, but the former Top Gear presenter didn’t seem to enjoy his time spent behind the wheel.
Clarkson’s review, published in The Sunday Times’ Driving section, mentions that the standard C7 Corvette, in his opinion, is “good-looking, fast, adroit in the corners and excellent value for money.” The Z06 is even better looking, more adept in the corners and even better value, but Clarkson found it difficult to drive.
This excerpt from his review sums up his impressions of the car quite well:
“This car is evil. You turn into a corner and there’s some quite pronounced understeer. You give it a dab of power to solve the problem but because there’s so much torque, the back end doesn’t start to come loose. It lets go completely.”
From here, he mentions how the Z06 has a very quick steering rack and not enough lock, which makes the slide even harder to control. You could conclude that JC isn’t a very good driver, but he’s been on the track in a large number of supercars, so he knows when a car is hard to drive. In our opinion, the Z06 was never meant to be easy to drive. Mark Reuss didn’t call it the ‘Big Nasty’ for no reason, after all.
Clarkson concludes that European buyers should buy a car “from the continent that gave the world Shakespeare, Monet and Emerson Lake & Palmer,” adding that “Europe does serious well. It does substance. It does brilliant. America does Disney.” However in trying to describe the Z06’s faults, Clarkson has pointed one of its best assets: a difficult yet rewarding driving experience.
Follow this link to read Clarkson’s full driving impressions of the 2015 Corvette Z06.
Comments
no z06
America also has TV moderators that are actually funny and don’t have yellow teeth.
He’s either too old to drive the thing right or he’s just too damn proud to admit that the z06 really is a world class super car
Or maybe he realizes for 50 grand less he could get a ford shelby gt500 with more horsepower, and will smoke that chevy piece of junk, they dont call it the corvette killer for nothin. Corvette has been snakebitten…… again
GT500, slower in a straight line, MURDERED on a track. Your point is?
He seemed to like the base model well enough, and TG liked the C6, raptor and Silverado HD so its not like he’s hated everything ‘murcan. Maybe unemployment has him in a bad mood?
Z06 is really world class super car. and old model to and so one. old and new cadillac v cars is to world class super cars. but in world is many different classis to on the top and there is very difficult on the top leading class. cars must be briliant all things. only speed or power not argument.
SEAT LEON CUPRA ST beat AUDI RS6 C7 nyrburgring today but seat not better than audi. easy.
world is grazy hard and difficult when you want to go to the top.
VAG Group improves its products on a monthly basis. vw golf every month improved. vw golf last generation came on the market, it was brutal, and today it belongs to the fundamental principle audi bmw-mb-league.
topgear is show and klarcson is star nothing else. sometimes it can be good to look at this show.
Stig LAPTIMES is only good thing i think. others is bisnes. i dont know what car lover clarkson is. he loves this who paid more.
something realistic thing not something show bulshitt
teeth colors ahhaaaa. yellov-grey-white-gold-silver and no teeths.
plastic surgery is coemdy to ahhaaaaa
realistic peoples is good thing
chris harrys is smart guy to. seems to be non-partisan and it is the most important vehicle for testing. but certainly also affected him for the money to
OPC,
Can you not type properly or use correct grammar and spelling? How old are you? Please correct and re-submit so we can understand what yellov coemdy bulshitt bisnes you are trying to convey… Shesh.
The standard Summer Tires…would not do well in the test conditions–ya think!?
Just a question: When was Mr. Clarkson actually given his primary driver’s permit? He seems to do well in the kiddie end of the pool, but when he gets in the deep end, he tends to wallow, slide and break free of the wall so that he bobs around spluttering, sputtering and gnashing his teeth. Sound does continue to issue forth but it is very much meaningless.
There is a MAJOR factor that I think a lot of people have missed: In the review, Clarkson mentions that his test drive occured on a “very windy and extremely cold May day.”
This car must absolutely not be driven hard in temperatures below 40°F if equipped with the Z07 package (his test car was). When the tires are cool, the car literally feels likes it’s being driven on ice due to the upgraded track tires. Once the tires heat up, the car is stuck like glue to the pavement.
I truly believe that on a warm day the review would have been completely different. Driving the car with those tires in cold vs hot is night and day. I own a Z07 so I’m speaking from experience.
But Clarkson should have taken any factors in regards to conditions into consideration at the time. I’m sure he wouldn’t have trash talked the McLaren P1 or Ferrari the same way…. It’s just the smug/arrogant attitude of many from across the pond that separates them from us. Am having the time of my life with my new Z06 and I really don’t care what individuals like Clarkson think… The only damage done here is to Clarkson’s own reputation as far as I’m concerned….
Being from the land of historically underpowered sports cars and only able to “Brag” of the “Porsche,” which is a European “Import” for England, I imagine the 2015 Z06 only serves as a reminder of Clarkson’s own “Inadequacies” as a driver…….