Chevrolet Corvette C6-Z51

The Chevrolet Corvette C6-Z51 is the sporting version of the standard C6, which entered production in 2005. One distinguishing feature of this model year was the abandonment of retractable headlights. The Corvette also dispensed with conventional door handles and an ignition key: the engine started at the push of a button, and the driver carried a special card. All Z51 cars had seats with six-way electric adjustment. An optional head-up display projected instrument readings onto the windscreen.

The engineers devoted considerable time to refining the Z51. It received a Tremec-56 manual gearbox with shorter ratios than the standard rear-wheel-drive C6. The supercar’s body used synthetic materials, while the steel chassis incorporated magnesium and aluminium components. The car weighed no more than one and a half tonnes. Its 6.0-litre V8, displacing 5,967 cc, produced 405 PS at 6,000 rpm, with maximum torque of 400 Nm at 4,400 rpm. Top speed was 298 km/h, and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h took no more than 3.9 seconds.