A prototype for the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 has been filmed testing in Michigan and the engineer behind the wheel gave us an excellent chance to hear the car’s engine.
This clip was filmed near GM’s Milford Proving Ground and shows a heavily-camouflaged C8 Corvette prototype accelerating away from the camera. It sounds dramatically different than the current Corvette Stingray with its 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8 engine.
The prototype’s engine howls in a not too dissimilar way to naturally-aspirated engines we’re more accustomed to seeing out of Ferrari. This makes sense as the new Corvette Z06 is widely expected to feature a 5.5-liter naturally-aspirated V8 engine with a flat-plane crank.
Read Also: 2022 Corvette Z06 Filmed Testing Alongside Ferrari 458 And Porsche 911 GT2 RS
This engine will be derived from the one used by the Corvette C8.R race car. However, whereas the C8.R’s engine is capped at 500 hp and 480 lb-ft (650 Nm) due to racing regulations, some speculate Chevrolet may be able to extract as much as 650 hp and 600 lb-ft (813 Nm) of torque from the road-going engine. If true, that would make the new Z06 one of the most powerful naturally-aspirated cars on sale, trailing behind a couple of Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and the forthcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie.
It is not just the new Z06 that has Corvette enthusiasts excited. After the Z06 arrives for the 2022 model year, Chevrolet will reportedly release a 2023 Corvette Grand Sport with a 6.2-liter V8 rated at 600 hp and 500 lb-ft (678 Nm) of torque. Other variants reportedly on the cards include a 2024 ZR1 with a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 producing 850 hp and 825 lb-ft (1,119 Nm) of torque. The C8 family could then be completed in 2025 with a Zora variant combining this 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 with an electric motor to make a combined 1,000 hp and 975 lb-ft (1,322 Nm).
