As you’re well aware, General Motors restricted the Z07 package for the 2023 model year Chevrolet Corvette Z06 due to supply chain-related challenges. Those who regret ordering this amazing car without said package don’t have to resign themselves because the aftermarket has already noticed the demand for Z07-style aero bits.
San Diego-based Sigala Designs, for example, can set you up with a Carbon Flash-painted aero package for a cool $4,999.99 at press time. Customers who prefer the look of carbon fiber are presented with a $5,999.99 sticker price, and the company’s latest addition to the range comes in the form of a forged carbon package.
Joined by non-functional vented hoods, said package costs just under seven big ones. The kit includes a high-style rear wing, a three-piece front splitter, the mandatory side skirts, as well as dive planes. Forged carbon mirror caps also need to be mentioned, plus an engine plaque bracket made from the same material.
Pricing for the caps and plaque isn’t currently available, and Sigala Designs hasn’t finalized the pricing for the moldings on the doors and side intakes either. The final pieces of the puzzle come in the form of forged carbon splash guards for both the front and rear wheel arches.
Slotted above the Stingray, the Z06 stands out in the C8 lineup and from other Corvettes before it with the help of a 5.5-liter V8 that spins to a sonorous 8,600 revolutions per minute. Gifted with a flat-plane crankshaft, the LT6 engine is more akin to a naturally-aspirated V8 from the Prancing Horse of Maranello than GM’s long-running small block (think Stingray LT2).
Internally referred to as Gemini, the LT6 features the 4.4-inch bore spacing of a small block despite boasting a DOHC valvetrain like the LT5 engine in the C4 ZR-1. Different in design from the Cadillac Blackwing twin-turbo V8 that used to be listed under production order code LTA, the LT6 belts out 670 horsepower at 8,400 rpm and 460 pound-feet (624 Nm) at 6,300 spinnies.
Derived from the motorsport-spec engine that powers the C8.R and Z06 GT3.R endurance racers, the LT6 currently holds the title of most powerful naturally-aspirated production V8. Said title was previously donned by the limited-run Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series, rated at 622 horsepower from 6.2 liters.
To be joined by the small-block hybrid E-Ray for the 2024 model year, the Z06 will also welcome a twin-turbo version of its engine in the yet-to-be-confirmed ZR1. Expected to arrive for the 2025 model year at the earliest, the ZR1 may crank out in the ballpark of 800 ponies.
The C8 lineup will be completed by the so-called Zora, a magnum opus named after Zora Arkus-Duntov. By combining the twin-turbo LT7 of the ZR1 with the electrified front axle of the E-Ray, the Zora is likely to launch with approximately 1,000 horsepower on tap.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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