2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Quick Spin

For miles around, nothing moves but desert scrub rustling in the warm breeze and critters skittering along the gritty floor of the Anza Borrego desert. Beyond the Corvette Z06’s trembling nose and behind its rumbling rear, blacktop writhes over the whoops and dips of the terrain. There’s no traffic. There are no black-and-white California Highway Patrol units, hulking Ford Expeditions in this region of the state. My right foot hovers above the Z06’s accelerator, then insistently revs the monstrous 7.0-liter, 505-horsepower V8. Vrroooom. Vrrrooooomm! VRRRROOOOOOMMM!!

Hammer down, clutch up, and the Z06 damn near liquefies its rear tires while shattering the tranquility of the desert. The 7,000 rpm redline arrives, but the Corvette’s not doing more than 20 mph, so I shift, stomp, and repeat. The tail slews almost all the way through second gear, so I grab third and the Z06 rockets down the highway, wailing like all the banshees in hell.

You know when you get into a Corvette Z06 that the car is going to be ridiculously fast. Chevrolet says it will run to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds – in first gear. But until you actually experience this kind of acceleration, you have no frigging idea what ridiculously fast is. Shoved into your seat, you’re pulling back on the steering and fighting g-forces to reach the shifter. And as much fun as it is to repave lonely desert highways in smoking black stripes, the Z06 is most impressive when driven with skill rather than abandon. Indeed, when the car is launched like a mature, responsible driver might, 60 mph does arrive before the shift to second, and before you can plead “Not Guilty” you’re well into triple-digit territory.

But since you can’t drive the Corvette Z06 this way in polite company, the car is docile at lower speeds. The clutch doesn’t substitute for a workout at the gym, the shifter is easy to move between gears, the suspension compliant enough that your chiropractor won’t be seeing you every 48 hours. The Corvette Z06 is more than a real sports car; it’s a real car, with useable trunk space and comfortable leather seats and automatic climate control. And check this out: The trip computer said the car was averaging 14.4 mpg, even with a flock of lead-footed journalists flogging it at every opportunity.

Given the Corvette Z06’s performance, technology, construction, and standard features, I’m flabbergasted that the sticker price is lower than the starting price for a Porsche 911. But if undercutting Zuffenhausen is why the Z06 buyer gets silver plastic trim inside rather than real brushed aluminum, I say charge more and plant some metal on that center console. The Z06 would still be a raging bargain. – Christian J. Wardlaw

Photos courtesy of General Motors