C8 Corvette Z06 Smokes 911 GT3 & R8 V10 Off the Line
In a drag race battle between naturally aspirated, rear wheel drive vehicles, only a Ducati superbike can beat out the C8 Z06.
Winning a drag race may not be the end all, be all when it comes to measuring the performance of a sportscar. But let’s be honest, it is always better to win the race. And the race that we have here is an interesting one. It is between three cars and a bike that all use naturally aspirated power that is sent to the rear wheels. And in each case the engine is mounted behind the driver.
With EVs quickly taking over the industry there are not many of these naturally aspirated vehicles left. The newest entry into this world is the C8 Corvette Z06. It is a serious performance car, but it is doing battle against some legends. The Porsche 911 GT3, and the Audi R8 V10 both try to show the Chevy their taillights. And if they can’t do it a Ducati Panigale V4 SP2 superbike might. Hagerty has recently posted a video of this drag race battle on their YouTube channel.
The engine in the Z06 is the only V8 in the group. It is the glorious flat-plane crank 5.5-liter LT6. The LT6 is quite simply the most powerful naturally aspirated V-8 in a production car ever. It makes 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. And it sounds fantastic while doing it. But the Corvette is no lightweight. It tips the scales at a whopping 450 pounds more than the GT3. The GT3 is down almost 170 horsepower on the Z06. But the Z06 must lug around that Sumo wrestler worth of weight with it. Can it possibly keep up with the two German rockets?
LT6 FTW
Whelp, it is the LT6 for the win. And it was not even a contest. The Corvette Z06 whips the GT3 to the quarter mile by FIVE AND A HALF car lengths. The Audi R8 has two more cylinders than the Z06 but they don’t help it much. The Audi is barely in the frame when the Corvette crosses the finish line. The Z06 hits 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds and trips the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds with a trap speed of 131 mph.
This rear-drive car obviously has no problem putting the power down. It grips and goes. Adding insult to injury the Z06 even with the Z07 package undercuts the price of the Germans by about $50,000 before any market adjustment nonsense. American V8 power has been used to dominate drag strips for decades. The LT6 in the Z06 continues that tradition in this drag battle.
Superbike
This is probably not fair but there is nothing else here that can even give the Z06 a good race. The bike might be only a 4-cylcinder, but it makes a stout 210 horsepower and weighs only 429 pounds. That is an impressive power to weight ratio.
To make it more of a challenge for the Corvette the bike is piloted by MotoAmerica Supersport Champion rider Josh Herrin. As a result, the bike handily beats the Z06. The Ducati put down an astonishing 9.5 second quarter mile time. But what is more astonishing is that it takes a superbike with a world class rider to beat the Z06.
Z06 Legend
Winning one drag race battle does not make a legend. But it is a good start. And the C8 Z06 is just starting to hit the streets. There are many more races that we expect the Corvette to compete in and win. And with electrification coming to cars, we may never see a naturally aspirated V8 in a production car more powerful than this LT6.
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