Ride Inside a 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 as It Rips Around Laguna Seca

The Z06’s LT6 engine is the most unique Corvette engine in history and it sounds like it.

byNico DeMattia|
2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
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The all-new C8 Corvette Z06's V8 sounds unlike any other Corvette before it. How could it not? It's the only flat-plane crank V8 in Corvette history and it's the highest-revving Corvette engine ever made. But not only is it unique to Corvettes, it also sounds unlike almost any other supercar engine on the market. This new video show's off the Z06's V8 roaring around Laguna Seca from inside the cabin and it gives me chills.

You might think that because the Z06's 5.5-liter "LT6" engine is a naturally aspirated, flat-plane crank V8 that it would sound like a Ferrari. But it doesn't. It certainly sounds more European, and potentially more Italian than every other Corvette engine before it. However, it has its own unique tone, especially as it reaches its 8,600 rpm redline. As its revs climb, it sounds much higher pitched than a Corvette's typical pushrod V8 but it bellows a bit more than something like a typical Ferrari V8. And don't even get me started on its lift-off throttle and downshift noises. I might swoon.

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With 670 horsepower, the Z06's LT6 is the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 on the market. But that wouldn't matter if it wasn't exciting or charismatic to drive. Thankfully, its noise, throttle response, and power delivery seem to deliver on that excitement, as evidenced by this video. The driver wasn't even pushing it at 10/10ths, instead just taking some casual laps around Laguna, and it still seems like an absolute monster of an engine.

There were a lot of questions when Chevy announced that the C8 Corvette Z06 would have a flat-plane crank V8. Chevy had never done anything like it before and there was some worry among the Corvette community that their beloved V8 rumble would be gone. While the latter is true—this new Z06 sounds nothing like the Corvettes of yesteryear—I don't think Corvette fans need to worry. This thing sounds killer and is going to create an entirely new generation of fans and customers.

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