505 hp Corvette Z06 pricing and what not

[Jaguar D-Type]

Chevrolet said, officially on Tuesday, that the 2006 Corvette Z06 will go from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds in first gear.

It will start at $65,800 including destination and freight charges.

Corvette Z06 features include:

- LS7 7.0-liter/427-cubic-inch Gen IV V-8 engine with lightweight reciprocating components

- 505 horsepower (373 kw) @ 6300 rpm

- 470 lb.-ft. of torque (657 Nm) @ 4800 rpm

- 6-speed manual transmission

- 7,000 rpm redline

- Aluminum body structure with one-piece hydroformed perimeter rails frame and magnesium engine cradle (not just a simple case of ordering aluminum instead of steel for the chassis)

- Carbon-fiber composite front fenders, front wheelhouses and floors

- Dry-sump engine lubrication system (used in race cars and the Z06 is one of very few cars under $100,000 that has dry-sump lubrication)

- Hand-built engine at GM’s new Performance Build Center

- Unique design styling that includes a larger grille, cold-air scoop and lower air splitter, wide-body front and rear fenders and a taller rear spoiler

- Engine, transmission and differential oil coolers and steering cooler

- 3-inch-diameter exhaust with bi-mode mufflers and larger polished stainless steel tips

- Rear-mounted battery to improve weight distribution

- Unique interior features including revised gauge cluster and lightweight two-tone seats with more aggressive bolsters

For all its race-inspired functionality, the Corvette Z06 also is designed to be refined as a daily driver with a sophisticated and comfortable interior and generous cargo volume. The Z06 will be offered in Machine Silver Metallic, Victory Red, Daytona Sunset Orange, Le Mans Blue Metallic, Velocity Yellow Tintcoat and Black exterior colors.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Lots of Z06 info here

http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2006/

The new hand-built LS7 is now rated at 505 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque.

Detroit

April 11, 2005

General Motors has become the first manufacturer to certify its horsepower and torque rating using the new Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) test procedure J2723. The 7.0 liter LS7 engine for the 2006 Corvette Z06 is the first to be certified under the new test procedure at 505 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 470 lb-ft at 4,800 rpm.

Here is an in-depth article about the LS7

New LS7

Full-size press pictures

Big pictures

A video of the hand-built LS7

LS7 video

Follow the Corvette in racing

http://www.corvetteracing.com/

http://www.ronfellows.com/

http://www.americanlemans.com/home/index.aspx

New Z06 article

The fifth-generation Chevrolet Corvette pulled off a technological feat when it was introduced in 1997 with marvelously engineered floor panels consisting of lightweight balsa wood coated with fiberglass and polyester resin.

Each floor panel was about 4 ft. (1.2 m) long, 2 ft. (0.6 m) wide and about a half inch (1 cm) thick and would contribute significantly to improved ride and handling.

Each floor panel was remarkably lightweight, tipping the scales at a mere 10 lbs. (4.6 kg). The design carries over to the sixth-generation A Corvette now in showrooms, but the new-for-06 Z06 variant takes the handy bit of structural innovation one step further.

For the Z06, the floor panels will use the same balsa wood substrate, except it will be laminated with a polyester base reinforced with carbon fiber, rather than polyester and fiberglass. With carbon fiber, each floor panel weighs in at 7 lbs. (3.2 kg) reducing mass by a whopping 30% and boosting rigidity, which is essential in a 500-hp supercar.

The innovation comes from composites specialist Molded Fiber Glass Corp. of Ashtabula, OH, a company whose history is intertwined with that of the Corvette itself.

MFG pioneered fiberglass molding technology and worked closely with General Motors Corp. and Chevrolet in developing the Corvette's original body panels in the 1950s. The company produced the car's fiberglass body from 1953 until the early 1960s, says Glen Warner, vice president-new products/markets.

"We're proud of our long association with the Corvette," Warner tells Ward's.

Balsa wood is used as the core because it is easily shaped and has been used successfully in the boating industry for years, Warner says. MFG purchases the wood from AlcanBaltek Corp., which ships it from Ecuador, machined to shape for the Corvette.

At its plant in Ashtabula, MFG bakes the balsa wood in ovens to drive out the moisture. The wood is then placed in a 750-ton (680-t) press, which applies the fiberglass and resin laminate for the base Corvette.

MFG will use the same press and the same process to apply the carbon fiber/polyester coating for the Z06 floor panels when production begins later this year.

The use of carbon fiber adds about a 25% price premium to the floor panels, MFG says.

The supplier expects to produce floor panels for 35,000 Corvettes annually, including 8,000 Z06 models.

- waw.wardsauto.com

[Jaguar D-Type]

Check here for red and black Z06s

(they aren't production cars)

Red and black Z06s

The dry sump lubrication system is located by the passenger side of the windsheild in the picture below.



The base C6 has a steel chassis.

It is not a simple case of ordering aluminum instead of steel. Here is the rear of the new Z06.





Rear tire









Magnesium roof structure

[Ecordeddie]

That's one smokin' ride!.... can I get one with wood paneling on the sides like my dad's old station wagon? lol!

[Jaguar D-Type]

The 505 hp LS7 is hand-built at the new Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan. Wixom is a Detroit suburb. Cadillac's new 4.4 liter supercharged Northstar V-8 is also hand-built there.

[Muscletang]

Originally Posted by Jaguar D-Type

It will start at $65,800 including destination and freight charges.

That's actually cheaper than what I expected. With all the options checked though it jumps to $74,875. That's a pretty big price tag but it's still cheaper than a Viper and faster.

[Rampart Crawler]

Yeah, they said the New C6 would start at $45,000, but I can't find one new for under $52,000 where I live. Not like I am in the market for one, but $45k is close to a lot performance cars and it just makes it seem even more worth the money.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Jan Magnussen has driven a new Corvette Z06 at the Nürburgring in 7:43. He was one of the drivers of the Corvette C6-R that won its class (GT1) in the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2005 Petit Le Mans. Petit Le Mans is a 10 hour/1,000 mile race at Road Atlanta.

According to EVO magazine, John Nielsen has lapped the Nürburgring in 7:43 in a Jaguar XJ220.

Autocar (2002) has said that a Lamborghini Murciélago has lapped the Nürburgring in 7:43.5.

http://www.nuerburgring.de/

[89IROC&RS]

DAMN i want one... anyone want to buy me one????

[lamehonda]

No, but you can buy one for me. I'll even let you take a ride in it.

I still prefer the old Z06 for looks. Not as much to distinguish this from the base car.

[Jaguar D-Type]

Z06 losing 136 pounds

Hopkinsville, KY, is in the racehorse business.

Located in the heart of Kentucky's bluegrass pastures, this city of 31,000 people boasts its share of thoroughbred racehorse breeders. Each day, the pounding of hoof beats lends plenty of rhythm to daily life.

In July, that sound will be rivaled by thumping heartbeats at a local 410,000-sq.-ft. (38,000-sq.-m) Dana Corp. frame plant, as it hits full stride in an effort to churn out annually 7,000 of the most-advanced structures ever to underpin a General Motors Corp. vehicle.

The plant continues to build GM fullsize van frames and stamp out parts for Toyota Motor Corp.'s Princeton, IN, truck plant. But this summer it adds Hopkinsville's newest breed of racehorse: The 285-lb. (129-kg) fully aluminum Corvette Z06 spaceframe.

The new spaceframe represents several significant firsts for Dana: Never before has the supplier had primary design responsibility for a frame; it is Dana's first underbody made entirely of aluminum; and it employs the most liberal use of laser welding — 46 ft. (14 m) worth — on a Dana frame.

Dana hopes to replicate the process for GM or other OEMs looking to differentiate a low-volume (10,000 units or less) vehicle program with a unique underbody, Gilberto Ceratti, president-Structural Solutions Group, tells Ward's.

Materials such as aluminum are seen adding sex appeal to high-margin vehicles, such as those playing to the high-horsepower supercar crowd.

“One key advantage for this design is for low- and medium-volume vehicles,” Ceratti says. “We can make it reasonable for the customer due to a much lower investment (on their part).”

While auto makers strive to keep underbodies as common as possible to save money for visible differentiation, going with a lighter-weight chassis for low-volume performance models could provide derivatives without breaking the bank.

In the Corvette's case, a less-expensive steel frame built by GM holds together the standard model, introduced in '05, while Dana's aluminum carriage handles the demands of the '06 500-hp [actually 505 hp] Z06 — said to require more torsional rigidity and lighter weight than its stable mate.

GM approached Dana four years ago with the task of creating an aluminum frame that would mirror the standard steel frame so the two could share the same assembly line with little process variation.

Ceratti says Dana's proven frame record, combined with can-do determination and a commitment to hitting cost targets, won the business.

“What really drove us here was the innovation and technology,” says Mike Laisure, president-Dana Automotive Systems Group, pointing to the Z06 program as a platform for profitable aluminum frame production or chassis components in the future. He concedes, however, the low-volume Z06 program is not profitable for Dana.

“As we move it into the higher volumes, the intent is it will help us improve margins,” Laisure told reporters earlier this year. “Obviously we're in this to make money, not just show off our capability.”

Hybrid trucks may be the biggest opportunity for Dana to expand its aluminum frame business, company sources say.

Brett Deep, GM's project manager on the program, says Dana is prancing out of the gate, having exceeded GM's targets so convincingly (including coming at least 5 lbs. [2.26 kg] under weight) that he's already moved onto a GM truck program with less than two months until the Z06's Job One.

“There are no issues,” he insists.

B.J. Kroppe, director-Dana Structural Solutions product engineering, says Dana succeeded under the motto, “Same as steel.” Same, but different. The Z06 frame boasts at least one major difference: It weighs a crucial 136 lbs. (62 kg), or one-third, less.

Alcoa Inc. brought its expertise from the Ferrari 360 Modena's aluminum spaceframe to Dana's design studio and helped the Toledo-based supplier bang out an aluminum frame that looks nearly identical to the steel one.

Hopkinsville, less than a 90-minute drive to GM's Bowling Green, KY, Corvette plant, is uniquely positioned to initiate the spaceframe revolution at Dana. During a tour, Plant Manager Jerry Bieck says the facility repeatedly has won quality awards and has a laser-weld expert (shared with Dana's Ford F-150 frame plant in Elizabethtown, KY,) on hand to assist with the new technology.

The entire tunnel assembly is laser welded in a high-dollar laser booth that promises maximum efficiency and spot-on accuracy with difficult-to-weld aluminum, according to Dana officials.

In fact, the 21-34 people working on the niche frame line (depending on workload) are themselves laser-weld experts. Bieck says qualified workers — “regardless of whether they're manually welding or not” — had to complete four hours of classroom training specifically for aluminum welding, including mastery of MIG welding; undergo four hours of hands-on training; pass a written test; and complete a manual welding test with 100% accuracy.

“There cannot be any flaws whatsoever” in the laser welds, says Bieck.

The training was extended to each Z06 frame line worker, because Dana wants to have flexibility to plug in players as they are needed, Bieck says. The absence of union representation in the plant undoubtedly plays a role in Dana's ability to flex its workforce.

One thing missing on Hopkinsville's assembly line: spot-weld guns. Dana opted to use 236 self-piercing rivets [used on the new aluminum Jaguar XJ and XK] (SPR), priced at 3 cents apiece, as a bulletproof alternative to spot welds.

GM's Deep insists the SPRs are far more effective joiners, not requiring pre-drilled holes or sealers to fill any gaps. He says SPRs are easier to monitor for quality.

“When you hit a rivet, you know it's there,” he says, pointing out it is virtually impossible to misfire a rivet into the aluminum structure given the tooling used. The rivets hold their ground better in a crash, don't require electricity (air guns do the job) to install and take the same 3-second cycle time needed to produce spot welds.

The aluminum frame requires about 18 minutes to build, with much of the time devoted to precision machining on a 5-axis, high-speed computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) machine located near the end of the line. The unit measures the spaceframe, drills necessary holes, rolls threads and perfects the critical interfaces, including the upper control arm and roof bow cover.

The CNC machining is essential to crafting the Z06 frame to mirror the base Corvette's, so the two can run down the same assembly line with as few variations as possible.

“It basically has the ability to machine within a quarter millimeter plus or minus,” Deep says. “We've used it to basically get this frame exactly like the steel one.”

Of the 1,777 parts that make up a Corvette, only 11 interface differently with the Z06 than they do with the base model. The magnesium roof, the battery (placed in the rear on the Z06 for weight distribution reasons) and the rear upper control arms are among the critical differences, Deep says.

Hanging the Corvette's fiberglass frame off both aluminum and steel posed a challenge. Dana solved it, dipping the aluminum frame in phosphate and then coating it with a substance that adheres to the fiberglass.

At least one point of differentiation speaks to the utility of aluminum: The rear suspension attachment, placed just aft of the integrated aluminum B-pillar, is a 1-piece casting that is fabricated on the CNC machine. On the traditional steel frame, it is a 5-piece component, welded together and requiring five different sets of tooling.

A similar reduction was achieved with the hinge pillar subassembly.

While this doesn't make the aluminum frame anywhere near as cost effective as the steel unit, it promises improved quality, less upfront tooling and simplicity. Such efficiencies will be necessary if aluminum is going to move beyond niche status.

Deep says GM currently is building a competitive advantage with aluminum, thanks to the Z06 frame project.

“We put a 1-piece aluminum casting on the (steel-frame) convertible as a seatbelt retractor roller assembly instead of four stampings. We did that leveraging what we learned working with aluminum.”

Look for more aluminum know-how from GM in the future thanks to the Dana partnership, Deep says.

- waw.wardsauto.com

[Jaguar D-Type]

The new Z06 has a top speed of 198 mph.

The new Z06's Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar EMTs are speed rated to 205 mph on the test track.

[Jaguar D-Type]

The Corvette Z06's LS7 engine has a dry-sump oiling system designed to keep the engine fully lubricated during the high cornering loads the Corvette Z06 is capable of producing. Ths LS7's dry-sump system was developed and tested on racetracks in the U.S. and Europe, including Germany's famed Nürburgring. And while dry-sump oiling is common in racing cars, the Corvette Z06 is one of just a handful of production vehicles - and the only production Corvette - to incorporate such a high-performance oiling system.

What is a Dry-Sump Oiling System?

Most automotive engines use a wet-sump sytem, in which all of the engine oil is stored inside the crankcase in the oil pan. In a dry-sump oiling system, engine oil is stored in a reservoir external to the engine, so the crankcase contains only a minimal amount of oil at all times.

What are the Advantages of a Dry-Sump System?

In an engine with a conventional wet-sump oil pan, the oil can slosh away from the oil pump pickup tube during high dynamic maneuvers like cornering, braking and accelerating. This starves the engine of oil, causing bearing damage or catastrophic engine failure.

The dry-sump system stores engine oil in a tall and narrow oil reservoir. This shape prevents oil from sloshing away from, or uncovering, the oil pickup, even under extremely high dynamic maneuvers. The dry-sump system enables increases to the dynamic capabilities of the vehicle, which is why racing cars and exotic sports cars use this type of oil system.

Additionally, oil aeration is lower in a dry-sump system, because the oil spends less time in the presence of the crankcase windage. Oil delivered to the bearings is typically superior to that of a wet sump system.

Finally, without the need for a conventional sump, the engine can be placed lower in the vehicle, effectively lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle.

How Does a Dry-Sump System Work?

In the LS7 engine, two oil pump sets (scavenge pump and supply pump) are located in the same housing on the nose of the crankshaft. The location is common with the oil pump in other small block engines.

The scavenge pump removes engine oil and air from the sump and pumps both to an external reservoir for conditioning and storage.

The oil is directed to the top of the reservoir, where it is allowed to spill onto a spiral-shaped baffle. Crankcase gases and air are separated from the oil and are returned by the PCV system to the engine, where they are burned. The deaerated and conditioned oil collects in the bottom of the reservoir, ready for use.

The supply pump draws the conditioned oil from the reservoir, pressurizes it, and feeds it to the engine by way of the oil filter and oil cooler. After the oil passes through the engine, it again flows into the sump to be returned by the scavenge pump to the reservoir once again.

Checking the Oil Level

The engine must be warmed up (after a drive). Cold oil will not give a correct oil level reading.

After the engine is warmed up to at least 175°F (80°C), shut off the engine. Checking the oil with the engine running will result in an incorrect reading.

Wait for 5 minutes (but not more than 20 minutes), to allow the oil to drain and settle.

Pull the dipstick with the yellow handle from the reservoir, and clean it with a lint-free cloth. Then push it back in all the way until it stops. Remove it again, keeping the tip down, and note the oil level on the crosshatched area.

An oil level within the crosshatched area is normal. If the level is below the crosshatched area, add 1 quart (0.96 L) of 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic oil through the black oil reservoir fill cap (fig. 6) and take another reading.

TIP: Do not overfill the reservoir, as this may result in excessive oil consumption. Oil levels above the crosshatched area may degrade lubrication system performance.

Oil Change Procedure

Remove the two drain plugs from the engine oil pan. One is located on the left side of the oil pan near the oil filter. This plug drains the small amount of residual oil from the engine oil pan, approximately 1 quart (0.96 L). The other drain plug is located on the front of the oil pan. This plug drains the external reservoir and hose assembly. Also remove the engine oil filter.

Once the oil has been drained from the engine and reservoir, replace the engine oil filter with a new PF48 oil filter and tighten to 25 Nm (18 lb ft).

Replace both oil drain plugs and tighten to 25 Nm (18 lb ft).

Fill the oil through the oil fill cap in the top of the dry sump reservoir. The total service fill, with a dry filter, is 8 quarts (7.57 L) of 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic engine oil.

Replace the oil fill cap and start the engine. Let it run at idle for at least 15 seconds to circulate the fresh engine oil through the lubrication system. (This is similar to running an engine after a radiator fill, to purge air from the system.)

Check the oil level according to the instructions above. The oil change is now complete.

TIP: The owner's manual may contain a slightly different procedure, which calls for filling 7 quarts, running the engine then shutting off, and finally filling 1 additional quart. This procedure may be used, although it is not necessary.

TIP: There is a cap on the right valve cover under the decorative cover. Attempting to remove this cap can break the retaining tabs, requiring removal of the valve cover to retrieve broken pieces. Under no circumstances should you attempt to fill the engine oil system through this cap.

[Jaguar D-Type]

The European-spec C6 Z06 has 512 hp (DIN).

http://www.corvette-europe.com/index.aspx?SiteID=41

Dave Hill, the Corvette Chief Engineer, is on the left.

[kennethk1]

beautiful automobiles, reversion to the 70s body style.... seems to be a popuar trend