Chevrolet has released the first official photo of the 2023 Corvette Z06. This halo-spec mid-engine Corvette is expected to be powered by a 5.5-liter, flat-plane-crank V8 with a red line as high as 9,000 RPM.
GM teased us back in August with some photos and video of its still-camouflaged prototype touring Europe ahead of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, but this is our first look at the new mid-engine performance variant in the flesh. Frankly, without the added aero of its track-spec Z07 package (or whatever it may end up being called), it looks pleasantly subdued.
The front fascia is completely different from the regular old C8 (at left above), with more-pronounced cooling intakes flanking the redesigned grille. The air intakes on the rear flanks have also been redesigned and the contrasting trim around the inlet makes it a bit less visually jarring. We can also see that it will be home to the C8’s Z06 badge. We can’t really see much of the rear (including the re-arranged exhaust outlets we’ve already seen on prototypes), but the spoiler shown here is different from that of the base car.
We’re less than a month away from learning all of the powertrain specs on Chevy’s new potential world-beater. The 2023 Corvette Z06 will be shown officially on Oct. 26.