Yellow.Retina-rattling, cop-baiting, bright yellow. Velocity Yellow in Chevy-speak. I was about to hop into a 2006 ZO6 Corvette for the first time and all I could think of was how I would be trying to talk my way out of speeding tickets for the next five days. Chevy claims a top-end of 198 mph, another magazine claims to have seen 207 in one, and I'm hitting the heavily-patrolled roads of the Garden State in a car that practically glows in the dark (all the while sounding at full-throttle like an unmuffled drag car).
Oh, and did I mention my last really bad speeding ticket came in a yellow 405-horse ZR-1 Corvette test car?
My initial fears lasted as long as it took me to slide into the two-tone leather driver's seat and hit the Start button. The heck with it-let my wife bail me out of jail.
The ZO6 is hardly new at this point. Everyone knows about its 505-horsepower/500-lb-ft 427 cubic inch alloy engine, its 7000-rpm redline, its wide rear tires and accompanying flared fenders. What we wanted to do was explore its limits on the drag strip and on a road course. Could we better the factory's claimed 11.7 at 125 in the quarter-mile? The best we saw in print was an 11.6 at 125 and we figured with 505 ponies under the scooped hood and a few powershifts we could better all published figures.
At the same time, we wanted to see just how good the ultra-Chevy could be as a daily conveyance. Would it beat us up? Drink fuel like it was still 30 cents a gallon? Could we find peace and happiness in the first Corvette that does not have an all-fiberglass body?
After five days, all I could say was, "Make mine black." It was love at first burnout.
We're happy to report we received no speeding fines, careless driving tickets, or for that matter, citations of any sort. Not that we weren't trying, but our licenses and wallets remained unscathed by the end of the loan. We burned enough gasoline to make a sheik laugh, but that was more our fault than the car's. On the way to the track, we averaged a stellar 25-mpg. By the time we gave it back to Chevy, we were mired at 12 mpg. I guess that's what happens with a 7-liter powerplant when you keep the throttle buried in the carpet most of the time. On the bright side, if you tried to do the same thing with a '66 427 Corvette, you'd probably get 3 mpg so in that respect the ZO6 is quite efficient.
We cruised in comfort to the track, relishing in the perfect driving position, the firm but not obnoxious ride quality and the superb steering. The shifter was a treat, gliding from gear to gear, with just the right amount of firmness. Some have complained about the quality of materials inside the Vette's cabin and while they may not be up those of a $100,000 Porsche, Chevrolet has put invested wisely where it matters most-under the hood and in the chassis (though you'd think they could use some better, softer plastics on the armrests and the center console lid for the same price).
Our only gripe was the seats themselves. They're comfortable and fairly supportive for everyday use, but lack proper side bolstering and the seat bottom is rather short, cheating you on lower thigh support. For serious open track exercises, they could be a whole lot better. The optional Recaro seats in the Cobalt SS are far superior, though the average Corvette owner probably couldn't get in or out of them. Anything that can average 1.0g on a skidpad deserves better chairs than this. A Recaro option should definitely be available for all Vettes, not just the ZO6.
We had two concerns at the track, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in scenic Englishtown, New Jersey. The first was that our test vehicle was delivered with a full tank of fuel, which was great for our wallets but added unnecessary weight. We usually like to test them with about a quarter of a tank. Our other dilemma was the weather; the mercury was a hair away from 100F, the humidity was high and the barometer low.
Fortunately, we had a killer track. It took a while for test driver Evan Smith to get a feel for the ZO6. If you tried revving the 427 and slipping the clutch out of the hole, you were rewarded with a bog and a nasty burnt clutch-type of smell. Using this method, the best time was a disappointing 12.05 at 121.84. Woof, woof.
This called for a completely different plan. We tried dumping the clutch. Surprisingly, this worked, even on street tires. The best 60-ft. times came from revving the engine to 5000 rpm, sidestepping the left pedal and then matting the throttle. The massive 325/30ZR19-inch Goodyears grabbed and the Vette rocketed ahead. A couple of 6800-rpm powershifts later and the yellow missile crossed the finish line in 11.568 seconds at 122.42 mph (1.80 60-ft time). We backed this up with an 11.578 at an even faster 122.76. We were satisfied. With 100-degree temps and no air to speak of, trying to go quicker would only qualify as auto abuse. Given some cool, autumn air, we've no doubt the ZO6 is capable of 11.2 at 127 as delivered from the factory.