Le Mans. Sebring. Daytona. Detroit. All conquered by the C8.R race car in its pursuit of racing glory. And now, that same technology comes to the streets with the all-new Corvette Z06. Designed for the 2024 racing season to compete in the GT3 category, Corvette Z06 GT3.R will soon join a family of long-standing victors on the track. This track-only race car will be the first that Chevrolet offers to both pro and amateur teams. Although based on the design of the street-friendly Corvette Z06 and its 5.5L engine, the GT3.R won’t be street legal. The track-only race car will be modified with racing-specific equipment and will comply with FIA regulations to compete in multiple series and drive circles around the competition.
Purpose-built to dominate the track, its flat-plane V8 is capable of 670 horsepower making it the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in production and will take you from 0 to 60† in 2.6 seconds. Reveals will never be the same. A feature film that shows what it takes to create the most legendary Corvette Z06 yet. The modern era of Corvette racing began in 1999 with the C5.R. Over the years, we’ve developed many variations of the Corvette and established it as a successful competitor in GT sports car racing around the world, including the GT1, GT2 and GTLM/GTE Pro categories. Now,the company are developing the next generation of the Corvette to take the GT3 category by storm and carry on the legacy.
The Chevrolet Corvette (C6) is the sixth generation of the Corvette sports car that was produced by Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 2005 to 2013 model years. It is the first Corvette with exposed headlamps since the 1962 model. Production variants include the Z06, ZR1, Grand Sport, and 427 Convertible. Racing variants include the C6.R, an American Le Mans Series GT1 championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE-Pro winner. The Z06 arrived as a 2006 model in the third quarter of 2005 and is the lightest of all Corvette models. The Z06 was equipped with the largest-displacement small-block engine ever produced, a new 7,011 cc (7.0 L; 427.8 cu in) V8 engine codenamed the LS7. The engine has a power output of 505 hp (512 PS; 377 kW) at 6,300 rpm and 470 lb⋅ft (637 N⋅m) at 4,800 rpm of torque. Until the introduction of LT6 engine in October 2021, LS7 was the most powerful production naturally aspirated engine made by General Motors.
The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will feature a 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft DOHC V-8 engine derived from the production Z06. This engine began on-track development in 2019 with the initial testing of the C8.R, ahead of its use in the production Z06. The 5.5L powerplant shares more than 70 percent of its parts with the production Z06 engine, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets and a variety of other sensors. The LT6 engine for the GT3.R originates from the Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, the same line on which all production Corvette Z06 engines are built. Racing continues to play a key role in the development of our production engines. There were valuable lessons learned during the C5-R through C7.R programs that aided in the development of Chevrolet V-8 engines for production and racing – many dealing with efficiency, materials and light-weighting. The flow of information from Corvette Racing to production engineering and back has helped company build race and street-car engines that are fast, reliable and efficient.
The Z06 GT3.R begins its life as an aluminum chassis frame from Chevrolet’s Bowling Green Assembly plant in Kentucky[i]. The frame provides a lightweight yet strong and durable underpinning for both Z06 and Z06 GT3.R. Once in Michigan at Pratt Miller, a purpose-built steel roll cage is welded onto a base plate, which is secured to the chassis. The motorsports engineering team added race springs and dampers, competition-specific rotors, calipers and pads. The Z06 GT3.R rides on 18-inch front and rear wheels – the same as on the C8.R. A double-wishbone suspension at the front and rear promotes a higher level of adjustability and fitment of racing-specific tire sizes. This is the same front and rear suspension configuration as on the Z06 production vehicle. Advanced aerodynamic strategies also link the road-going Corvette and its GT3 counterpart. Motorsports engineers worked with the GM Design Studio to develop an aero package specific to the Z06 GT3.R to optimize levels of downforce, stability, drag reduction and cooling.
The goal was to design a GT3-spec Corvette that is suitable across different tire specifications, balance-of-performance settings and other customer preferences while not sacrificing performance or drivability on a variety of tracks and racing surfaces. The underbody aerodynamic devices work together in complementing the functionality of a new-for-2024 wing that aids in airflow at the rear of the Z06 GT3.R and the creation of downforce for enhanced cornering ability. In order to enhance performance of the Z06 and Z06 GT3.R, each uses similar carbon fiber splitters which provide optimal downforce at the front of the vehicles. On the underside of the Z06 GT3.R, a new and purpose-designed carbon fiber diffuser routes air from the front of the car toward the rear in order to create an optimal level of overall stability. Aggressive and efficient ducting will move air to cool internal components. Intakes at the front of the Z06 GT3.R draw in air to cool the front brakes. A single, large opening on the hood – a new design philosophy from the C8.R – extracts out air after it moves over the radiator. From the top of the windshield to the rear of the car, the surface elements of the Z06 stayed intact for the Z06 GT3.R, accentuating the tie between production and racing.
The reveal of the Z06 GT3.R follows a two-year testing program. Virtual simulation through Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator began in early 2021. The Z06 GT3.R is the latest in a line of championship-winning Corvette race cars that date back to the late 1990s and the introduction of Corvette Racing and the Corvette C5-R. Entering its 25th season, the program has scored 122 race victories around the world, including 113 in IMSA competition. Those wins have led to 14 Manufacturer’s and Driver’s championships and 15 Team titles. No team in IMSA history has won more races or championships than Corvette Racing in that span. The mid-engine C8.R – the predecessor of the Z06 GT3.R – has won 15 times around the world since its on-track debut in 2020. The 2023 season will be its second and last with a dual program in both the WeatherTech Championship and the FIA WEC. The latter will move from the current GTE regulations to the global GT3 platform beginning in 2024.
Chevrolet and Corvette Racing is establishing a complete customer support program that will be available to teams running the Z06 GT3.R in North America and elsewhere around the world. Corvette Racing will carry full spares packages of bodywork and internal components for its customer teams in supported championships. On the technical side, engineers will assist teams with items such as pre-race documentation, including chassis setup and data sharing plus post-event documentation, data analysis, and relative comparisons. An at-track parts truck will be a fixture at North American race events starting in 2024 with expansion to overseas support ramping up in the first two years of the Z06 GT3.R program. Full engineering, race strategy and other items also are incremental support options for Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer teams. Customer integration doesn’t stop at the racetrack. Corvette Racing and GM Motorsports engineers will be available for remote engineering and operations support,
