Alex 
The Corvette Z06 nameplate has long been affiliated with Corvette Racing, and the C8.R that it’s based on is no different. As such, the C8 Corvette Z06 promises to be a serious performer, but most laymen will never be able to push the car to its absolute limits, even on a dedicated race track. So, Corvette Racing decided to take it into their own hands to prove the prowess of the new supercar.
Naturally, the best people to give it a proper test are the drivers that call the C8.R cockpit their office. Corvette Racing drivers Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia took two new 2023 Corvette Z06 examples with the Z07 aero package out to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, to put it through its paces like nobody else can.
“Power and grip everywhere,” Garcia said. “You can surely feel everything we actually feel in the race car.”
The Z07 aero package adds up to 650 pounds of downforce at speed, which reduces the top speed slightly, but makes for a lot more stickiness in the corners, which is where races are won.
The high-revving 5.5-liter LT6 V8 in the 2023 Corvette Z06 can clearly be heard in the video, spitting out the 670 horsepower number that it always deserved to have.
“I wish the race car had that much horsepower,” Taylor said.
To comply with IMSA rules, the race car is actually detuned to have less power than the road-going version, so for the drivers to have more oomph under their right foot must be a nice change.
“Driving around here in Elkhart Lake at Road America, it’s a track where you can really open up the engine and just accelerate,” Taylor added. “The power is impressive, the handling is impressive, the brakes…I mean, yeah, I’ve got a huge smile on my face. I’m going to be leaving here and planning to negotiate to get my own one back at home.”
These weren’t all-out hot laps, so don’t expect an official C8 Corvette Z06 lap time around Road America just yet. For now, we’ll just have to take the driver’s words for gospel and hope that the real deal measures up to expectation.
🔊🔊What happens when you give two #Corvette racers the 2023 #Z06 to sample at Road America? Absolute magic… 🎶🎶 @jordan10taylor @AntonioGarcia_3 @TeamChevy @Chevrolet @IMSA @RoadAmerica pic.twitter.com/unSWGofBNk
— Corvette Racing (@CorvetteRacing) August 17, 2022
