C6 Corvette Z06 with 700 HP Proves to Be One Fun Street Machine

By Brett Foote - December 31, 2024

Naturally-aspirated C6 Corvette Z06 makes big power with just a few simple upgrades, making it a proper budget build.

As humans, many of us tend to gravitate toward newer, shinier objects, and that’s certainly true of the automotive world. Automakers are always coming out with fresh products in that regard, and oftentimes, arguably better ones. The C8 Corvette is a great example of this, as by all accounts, the first-ever mid-engine version of America’s sports car might just be the best one yet in more ways than one. However, we aren’t sleeping on older rides like the C6 Corvette Z06 either, as it has plenty of potential to offer in regard to performance upgrades – as well as bang for the buck.

Those facts are clearly on display in this recent video from Late Model Racecraft, which gives us a closer look at this C6 Corvette Z06 build it previously completed for a customer. This particular model came with the rather large and powerful LS7 from the factory, churning out 505 horsepower in that guise. However, this one has been treated to LMR’s 700 horsepower package, which doesn’t feature any sort of power adder, making for one delicious naturally-aspirated cocktail, we’d say.

That particular package contains a number of upgrades including a beefier cam, Stage 3 LS7 heads with titanium intake valves, ARP bolts, 1 7/8-inch stainless steel headers, an American Racing x-pipe with high-flow cats, a 103mm throttle body, MSD intake, cold-air induction system, NGK spark plugs, MSD wires, an LS7 160-degree thermostat, a dyno tune, and LMR’s own engine management calibration.

This particular C6 Corvette Z06 is more of a cruiser, so the owner opted for a slightly less aggressive cam than what’s available, but it’s still a proper street machine with plenty of juice on tap. In fact, on the dyno, it laid down around 585 horsepower at the wheels, while a larger cam would result in something north of 600. Regardless, that minor trade off is a car that one could easily drive anywhere they want with no reliability problems, which is something that not every high-tilt build can lay claim to.

Given the lofty prices of new cars like the C8, it certainly makes sense for a lot of folks to save a lot of coin and look to an older platform like the C6 Corvette Z06, which can be had with relatively low miles in nice condition for reasonable prices – for now, at least. Toss on a package like LMR’s, and you’ve got a seriously fun weekend or occasional track toy that’ll extract just about the same number of smiles per mile, too.