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Here’s The Top Speed Of The 2023 Corvette Z06

While the 2023 Corvette Z06 produces quite a bit more power than the C8 Corvette Stingray thanks to its new flat plane crank DOHC V8 engine, it isn’t much faster than the entry-level Vette on which it’s based from a top speed standpoint.

According to a recent report from Corvette Blogger, the 2023 Corvette Z06 will boast a top speed of 195 mph in base form, while models equipped with the downforce-heavy Z07 Performance Package will top out at 188 mph.

As a reminder, the 2023 Corvette Stingray has a top speed of 194 mph, while models equipped with the optional Z51 Performance Package are rated at 184 mph due to the small front splitter and rear spoiler. The Stingray’s 6.2L LT2 V8 engine is rated at 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque in base form, while the Z06’s 5.5L LT6 V8 produces 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque.

Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter confirmed the Z06’s top speed during a recent appearance at the 2022 Corvettes at Carlisle event in Pennsylvania. Juechter also explained to Vette enthusiasts in attendance that the Z06 was never really meant to impress with its on-paper stats, but rather was engineered to be a raw, visceral track car for true driving enthusiasts. Even with outright performance taking a back seat to general driving feel, Chevy still ended up with a car that can hustle from zero to mph in 2.6 seconds and top out at nearly 200 mph.

“This really is not a numbers car, we never intended to be,” Juechter said, as quoted by Corvette Blogger. “It was always intended to be the most pure expression of track and driver capability. That’s what we were thinking about, but the numbers are pretty good. You’ve got 670 horsepower, that’s very, very impressive. We published it before, but zero to 60 on this car is 2.6 seconds. So honestly, when we broke three seconds on the stingray, we were a little worried because this car isn’t a drag racer per se.”

Unfortunately, many 2023 Corvette Z06 order holders will have to wait to receive their vehicle, with GM limiting production on the vehicle due to supplier constraints. GM has also stopped taking new sold orders for the 2023 model-year Z06 at this time.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. “Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter confirmed the Z06’s top speed during a recent appearance at the 2022 Corvettes at Carlisle event in Pennsylvania. Juechter also explained to Vette enthusiasts in attendance that the Z06 was never really meant to impress with its on-paper stats, but rather was engineered to be a raw, visceral track car for true driving enthusiasts.”
    That’s BS, GM can’t meet production but they thought they’d just put it out there for dealers to gouge customers. I won’t be one.

    Reply
    1. it’s not GM. the dealers have gone rouge.

      Reply
  2. What it tells me is, “how utterly amazing the Stingray is!”

    Reply
  3. I really really thought I wanted a Z06, and I am going to enjoy seeing ones my friends will get.
    But it seems my Z51 2021 is going to still be in the game. I am learning to love my car all over again.
    Save the Wave.

    Reply
    1. Right On. I fell the same about my 2021 3LT Z51. The Z06 is a lot to spend just for a different exhaust sound and bragging rights.

      Reply
  4. Given that both cars have the same actual power (torque @ 460/465) I’m not surprised it’s not any faster. The HP doesn’t matter when it doesn’t make more torque to apply it. It could make 1000hp but if it only has 460tq it’s going to drive like a car with 460tq.
    Horsepower sells cars, Torque wins races. For a car with a Z06 badge I’m disappointed, but I won’t be buying one so my opinion doesn’t really matter anyways.

    Reply
    1. “The HP doesn’t matter when it doesn’t make more torque to apply it.” HUH??? LOL! Why do people like you insist on demonstrating your ignorance by posting things that you obviously know nothing about?

      Reply
      1. He’s not wrong. It’s the same reason that when my 1LE was stock I couldn’t really be pulled on the race track by a stock GT350R with way more HP but less torque. You can think what you’d like but honestly you drive torque and torque is really where the power comes from. Go add 100 hp to your car, you won’t feel it much, but add 100 lb-ft of torque, now that you’ll feel.

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    2. Horsepower is for SHOW torque is for GO! I wanted the Z06 in the worst way too but I am cooling off, too much hype with with no show….My 2020 HTC is just getting better and better!! JD

      Reply
  5. Love the way my 2021 Z51 accelerates and handles. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!!!

    Reply
  6. This is a story that needs to be told. I have a 2022 and with 900 miles has a slow drip oil leak from a stupid plastic oil recovery tank they put between the front of the motor and the firewall and due to their poor design You can’t access the bolts per the dealer to replace so now they want to drop the motor on my brand new car to replace this garbage plastic oil recovery tank! I haven’t had any transmission problems yet but my neighbor had a leak from his and they had to drop it already when it had only 1500 miles. I’ve worked on cars my whole life and the last thing I want to see is a motor taken out of my brand new car for a repair of a poorly designed plastic oil recovery tank in a poorly engineered location!

    Reply
    1. A 2022 ?. What kind of car.

      Reply
      1. Did you read the headlines? I believe the story is about Corvettes

        Reply
  7. If I had a dollar for every person that has asked me how fast I have had my C7 GS going, I’d have an extra couple thousand dollars to my name. Who cares about top speed? Unless you are running a top speed drag at an airstrip, it does not matter in the least bit. My GS is equipped with the Stage 2 Aero Package and it is meant to tear up a road course. The same goes for the new C8 Z06. It is meant to dominate VIR, Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, etc..

    It doesn’t take any talent to smash the “go pedal” to the floor.

    Reply
  8. I bought a 2023 convertible with performance exhaust only for $72,000. I’m an old guy so naturally it is white with red leather ( a no cost option) and it is my weekend, golf, vacation car. It will NEVER be on a track, so I was never attracted to Z51 which is a slower car anyway. Here is my direct criticism to Chevrolet from regular Corvette lovers. We like trips and most of us carry toys with us for golf and weekend adventures. Your ELIMINATING the trunk space in the coupe was a phenomenal mistake. Obviously there is room for the top over the engine….that is where it goes with the convertible. How in the world can you design a convertible/targa car and tell your customers no trunk room when the top is down. Isn’t the top down on these cars 100% of the time they are out of the garage. Okay rant over. However back on topic. My base car goes 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, and I am told it goes 194 mph. Why again would I pay $40,000 more for the same car???

    Reply
  9. I’m guessing GM has limited the top speed a little. Any of us that have purchased a programmer knows what it can do. And, if they said it would go 231 MPH, we would want to see that, Just one time! 194-200 MPH is pretty darn fast. The guys that will be racing theirs will have their engines out to be blue printed, cammed, etc. So, 200 is not bad..

    Reply
  10. The standard C8 is a great vehicle. Not the best build quality ever, especially as it relates to panel fit, but what the designers have managed to achieve with the mid-engine layout was nothing short of astounding for the original price point of just under $60K. You could take it all the way up to $110K or so by checking all the options, some needed, some not so much. Now, with the Z06 MSRP, you can take up to $160K by checking all the options. But the performance, unless you want to hear that engine note, is just not there versus the standard C8 with Z51 package, UNLESS you intend to track it regularly. People keep talking about how much better the Z06 is compared to the regular C8. The numbers don’t corroborate that narrative and Juechter just confirmed it, but that’s OK. The Z06 is a track beast. If you don’t intend to track regularly then there are no additional bragging rights apart from it looks slightly different. Personally, I’ve had fun with my C8 over the last year, but on to a new Carrera 4S as I cancelled my order on the Z06.

    Will be interesting to see how this all develops with GM faux pas, the dealers and their ADMs and the ever patient public over the coming years.

    Reply
  11. It’s time for Tadge and Chevy to go to more carbon fiber, yes 195 is impressive but this car could be capable of so much more. More carbon fiber and get the weight down. Get away from that aluminum cage, they need to go carbon fiber especially since it’s going electric. The Vette isn’t fat, but the weight needs to be lower.

    Reply
  12. This reminds me of some of the Porsche’s facts and figures about their “911” series of cars…some of the highly desirable Turbo series cars, while quicker than the normally asperated models, are not that much quicker and they don’t always sustain a higher top speed. We’re talking “stock” here, check the specs out, Porsche’s are notoriously quick and they can hold their own at any stoplight Grand Prix, but quickness doesn’t relate entirely to top speed.
    Final gearing, and of course those expensive but amazing “Aero Packages” can slow the top speed down quite a bit, but that’s for a very good reason, better and safer handling.
    However in the case of the Z06, the same idea applies…the Z07 package will have a lower top speed also, but seriously anytime you’re approaching 200 MPH in any car, you are pushing the envelope of the machine however with some of those multi million dollar Super Cars, 200 MPH is just a figure that can be passed on a perfect stretch of highway, probably not on just any race track as most race tracks are not set up for a top speed run, but for handling and braking with some parts set up for “acceleration” to and from corners, so a Top Speed figure is sort of a moot point.
    My contention is the Z06 will get up to it’s top speed quicker than say a Z51 base model…however, I also believe that should the Z06 (not the Z07-Z06) actually be set up to run a 200 plus MPH top speed figure, that could easily be done with special body panel and spoiler configurations…but again, the point would be moot except for bragging rights maybe.
    However, there will always be someone out there that will be faster than you and whatever model sports car you own, so be satisfied with the top end speed figures that were given for the Z06, and just pray that this “Beast” is way better than the current C8 Z51 on the race track cause the actual price is going to be outrageous over the base Corvette and after all of the “pomp and circumstance” about the new “Mighty Z06” with it’s amazing engine, you damn well better have a ‘Vette that will be the real “Bad Boy” that’ll take no prisoners, otherwise you’ll be the laughing stock of the Sports Car World! ‘Nuff said.

    Reply
  13. 10,000 km in, 2 broken driveshafts and a leaky transmission after one track day, I give up. I loved how my C8 handles, brakes and performs as a daily driver, however I did not expect to have so many mechanical issues early in the game. The warranty covered all costs, but my dealership hinted that I should avoid the track from now on. I missed my trouble-free C7.

    Reply
    1. Just speaking of statistics the c6 Z06 top speed was 198 mph the C6 Z06 was 199 mph the c7 Z06 was 205 mph and the C7 Z R1 212 mph not that that really matters when you get down to it just speaking statistics so if you’re looking at just statistics goes to show you the C6 Z06 is still the most powerfully naturally aspirated engine Chevrolet has built 505 horsepower torque of 470 interesting still has more torque than the not really on the market C8 Z06 oh of note in the previous comments the easiest way to perceive torque and horsepower is torque gets it going horsepower keeps it going

      Reply
  14. I agree! You are certainly tacky and ugly. But the C8 Z06 is beautiful to anyone who can see. Don’t be a hater just because you can’t afford one.

    Reply
    1. The back looks like a Civic mated with a Camaro, that was it’s first cousin.

      Reply
  15. THE 5.56 FINAL DRIVE RATIO ON THE Z06 IS LIMITING TOP SPEED
    THE BASE C8 IS 4.86

    Reply
  16. AR,
    Yes, the final drive’s impact is likely a plus or minus impact factor depending on the HP at RPM numbers. But the huge downforce for track performance from the wings has a linear negative effect on top speed. L/D is alive and real.

    I doubt most buyers care but I would be curious to see what the mileage impact is of the wings at 70MPH cruising on either or both engines.

    Reply
  17. LOL…”the Z06 was never really meant to impress with its on-paper stats”…they’re the ones that gave us 10.6s 1/4 mile, 2.6s 0-60 numbers…and an inflated msrp…I’d say THEY made it a numbers car. Though some key numbers that have been elusive are a ‘Ring lap time and a date for availability.

    Reply
  18. Bragging rights! That’s all the Z06 is about. And stupidity……it screams, yes I was stupid enough to overspend and buy the Z06 rather than keep my Z51 which is cheaper, and is also faster.

    Reply
  19. Bragging rights? Last week I purchased a 2023 Camaro ZL1 coupe, 10 speed automatic, I did NOT get the 1LE package as I do not intend to track it. According to Chevrolet’s website the top track speed for an automatic ZL1 is 198 mph. The top track speed for a Camaro ZL1 1LE is 191 mph. I have owned 11 Corvettes including 2 ZO6s and 3 ZR-1s, I decided to downsize to a Camaro. My birthday was August 20th, the ZL1 was my 79th birthday present.

    Reply
  20. Remember all you Corvette lovers out there, “Porsche, there is no substitute “. Before that you crucify me, I used to have Corvettes but all of those goofy little things that would go wrong with the ‘vettes drove me to go German.

    Reply
    1. I’ve owned 9 Corvettes, starting with a new ’81 Coupe and the most recent one being a C7-Z06. With the exception of the C3, which had really bad build quality, every one of the subsequent ones was basically trouble-free – despite being driven hard on the street. (I’m sure that regular maintenance certainly helped) I’ve owned German cars (multiple BMW’s and one M-B), and the reason I no longer have one is the questionable reliability at higher mileages and astronomical cost to maintain and/or repair one. I’m back in an LT-1 equipped car now and happy with the “smiles per mile” and the knowledge that if something major does fail (out of warranty) it won’t cost 10’s of thousands of dollars to fix it.

      Reply
      1. Hi Larry, I agree with you, I wouldn’t want to own a BMW or a MBenz, but I have had good luck with my Porsches. By the way I disagree with your opinion about he C3 being the worst. In my experience the C5 takes the cake as being the most challenging to own.

        Reply
  21. I have a 2020 C8 w/Z51, Probably will never do it again but I’ve had it on the floor in almost ideal conditions just past 160 and there is no way in hell this car will run 180, no way, maybe 170 175 tops. But I don’t care, I’ve seen 2.9 0-60 and had a blast running the twisty-curvies. Great gas mileage, I just LOVE MY CAR. I’m 4 on the list for a Z06 at list but I’m having second thoughts. We’ll see how things work out.

    Reply
  22. The conversation about hp and tq is a wash peeps. The car 0-60 is 2.6 there’s not many cars that 0-60 like that with them hp tq. So they are doing something right

    Reply
  23. Would you consider me as a driver ( have over 1 million safe driving miles in 18 wheeler and I’m 70 been driving since I was 8 years old). Would love to drive a vehicle around the USA with a sealed drivetrain not to be touched unless authorized by GM. That would be great publicity.

    Reply
  24. Traded my 22 c8 z51 for my new ct5v blackwing.
    In storage right now up here in upstate n.y. but looking forward to my new
    200 mph golf club hauler.
    4 door sedan with 668 hp and over 200 mph top speed….. I said, hell yeah….

    Reply

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