Jared Hohmeier
Professor Mendel
English 101
24 May 2011
An Enthusiast’s Adrenaline A true car enthusiast looks for quite a few things in a vehicle. 0-60 times being in the 4-second region make a compelling start and can drop jaws on many people. However true car enthusiasts looks deeper, to things like 60-0 braking distances, how many G-forces a car can pull on the skid pad, and then most importantly, who can their car beat? With all these factors in mind, looking for a supercar of performance but not being a millionaire, thousands of people have turned to the Chevrolet Corvette since 1953 and instantly a legend was born. Since 1953 the Corvette has been a race inspired testament to what General Motors can do and the modern sixth generation, or C6 Corvettes are no exception. Miraculously, even though this car can compete with top-level racers like Lamborghini and Ferrari it costs just a fraction of those sticker prices. The Corvette Z06 for the sixth generation debuted in 2006 for a price of about $65,000 (Booth). Motor Trend magazine compared the Corvette’s 3.5 second 0-60 time to $192,000 F430 F1 Ferrari and the Corvette was quicker (Walton). This is made possible by the engine that sets the Z06 model apart from other Corvettes and indeed most cars on the road. Walton describes it this way:
Designed and developed alongside the Le Mans class-winning C6R racer, the Z06 shares much of its technology and construction techniques. In some cases, the Z06's use of exotic materials exceeds that of the race version. But for all that, it's Chevy's astounding old-school LS7 engine (Overhead cams? Four valve heads? Who needs 'em?) that really defines the Z06. A true 427.6-cubic-inch V-8 small block, it's the first engine in the world to be certified under the new SAE (J2723) standard. The official results returned 505-horsepower at 6300 rpm and 470 pound-feet of torque at 4800 rpm.
This engine shares its basic design with the Chevy small block that has been a standard of engine building since 1955. Nowadays with computer mockups and even computer controlled engine building, many companies have moved on to more complex engines. This is what Walton meant by saying “Overhead cams? Four valve heads? Who needs 'em?” Using a non-overhead cam setup and remaining with 2 valve heads would seem antique to the high performing makers of the European super cars like the Ferrari that this Corvette Z06 can still beat. Highly versatile, the Chevrolet small block still resides in everything from sports cars to dump trucks, and highly dependable and capable of very high performance. The small block family of engines that the modern Z06’s engine evolved from is impressive in any light. While impressive, straight line driving and a powerful engine is not what makes the ultimate car. While the 2006 Z06 Corvette underwent performance tests at the legendary racetrack in Nürburgring the car was capable of turns at up to 1.18G. This means that the car is capable of holding itself to the ground, and not sliding out of control while exerting 1.18 times the force of gravity laterally. This is made possible by the inherently good aerodynamic design of the car providing ample down force without adding large spoilers that are commonplace on racecars (Walton). Another factor in the ability of the Corvette to handle so well under stress is the tires. They are massive compared to most daily driving tires at 275mm and 325mm wide in front and rear, respectively. Coupled with low profile sidewalls to remove the leaning