How to Get Your Hands on the First Production 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06

One event that we have been paying very close attention to here at West Chevrolet of Knoxville is the world-famous Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. The auction runs from January 22nd through the 30th. There’s a very special highlight this year, as the official auction of the world’s first 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 will take place here. This car with the VIN number 001 is being sold to raise money for Operation Homefront- a non-profit dedicated to helping hard-working military families.

The 2023 Z06 has a striking appearance, sound, and a track-ready handling experience. Its 5.5-liter LT6 is the highest-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 to hit the market, with its flat-plane crank design that generates an exhilarating 670 hp. Almost every single exterior detail that the Z06 exhibits as serves a purpose for hardcore aerodynamics and handling or cooling, with styling elements that do a fantastic job of complementing the car’s intense, rapid motion.

This “floating design” was key to the very precise tuning that helped with the delivery of said exhaust note. The Z06 has a driver-focused cockpit, with carbon-fiber trim that complements the car’s very track-focused and lightweight persona. You can pick from 12 available exterior colors, seven interior colors, and seven available wheel packages, making this the most overall adjustable Corvette yet! January 29 is the expected date for this new Z06. The proceeds will be going to Operation Homefront, an organization that helps military families overcome short-term problems that stand in the way of being sustainable in the long run.

Barrett-Jackson has helped raise more than $135 million to date! The auction company is honored to set the stage for another memorable period in automotive history with proceeds from this original charity Z06 going to Operation Homefront. Known for years for continuing to build military families up with stability, Operation Homefront has done very well at securing military families, in hopes to lift them up to their highest potential in communities they have long protected. 

The first 2020 Corvette Stingray that was featured at a Barrett-Jackson auction raised an astonishing $3 million, sold to prominent figure Rick Hendrick. The moment he made the bid he was planted right next to former NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, with the beneficiary being the Detroit Children’s Fund. You can also do yourself the favor of hearing the 2023 Z06 roar, with the key to its sound and performance capability being its very lightweight, low inertia rotating assembly. The LT6 is hand-assembled by master engine builders at the proudly all-American Bowling Green Assembly plant within the legendary Performance Build Center. 

An Electric Duo Sporting Dynamic Differences: Chevy Silverado EV vs. GMC Hummer EV

The 2024 Chevy Silverado EV will most likely not ever be mistaken for a GMC Hummer EV truck. The GM Ultium platform that underpins the new electric Silverado is visually quite different than the Hummer EV pickup. Here are some of the major differences between the electric Silverado and Hummer EV reported by the Motortrend team. 

Stealing a Glance at the Stretched Wheelbase: 

The 24-module 200-kWh battery pack is expected to be the largest used in any Ultium passenger vehicle application, and it provides a snug fit between the axles of the GMC Hummer EV. The Silverado will fulfill the expectation of working a bit harder for its substance than the lifestyle-oriented Hummer, with a stretched wheelbase of 10.1 inches to make way for a nearly 6-foot pickup box on the electric Silverado work truck. The GMT800 architecture needed seven different midsection frame modules to provide the perfectly spec’d wheelbases. The Ultium platform’s midsection features extruded aluminum rails cut down to different lengths. 

Track Width Inspection:

The side rails are spaced the same distance apart in the Silverado EV and Hummer EV. The track widths are dramatically different and made possible by the presence of wider suspension cross members and longer control arms on the Hummer. Larger tires are noticeably narrower on the Silverado.

The Silverado Brandishes the Midgate: 

During the GMT800 era, the Silverado flourished as a fully conventional pickup, whereas the Hummer H2 received a midgate. This fulfilled the desired task of making a very short 4-foot bed grow by 2 feet with the current model enjoying a fixed 5-foot bed. The Silverado EV work truck gets a 6-foot bed, and up-level models like the RST First Edition will receive a midgate that extends the floor length to 9 feet by folding forward into the cab.

The Daunting Powertrain Debate:

Chevy will launch the 2024 Silverado EV with a motor that sends power to each axle for standard all-wheel drive. The Work Truck trim’s horsepower rating is 510, and torque is at 615 lb-ft. After its initial release, lower-powered models that feature two-wheel drive are expected to follow shortly afterward. The entry-level Hummer EV2 and EV2X will receive two motors as standard, rated at 625 horsepower and 617 Lb-ft of torque, with the top-of-the-line EV3X and Edition 1 featuring a single-motor front axle along with two motors at the rear. The base EV3X will likely produce 1,000 hp and 863 lb-ft of torque.

The Premium Selection of Power Modes:

The Top models of each brand’s Ultium pickup will boast a special high-power mode. Flipping the switch on this feature will allow you to play with up to 664 hp and 780 lb-ft of torque, and the Edition 1 Hummer EV boasts its very-own Watts to Freedom (WTF) mode good for 1,000 hp and 1,045 lb-ft of torque. This mode puts out a few rumbling sound effects that Chevy made the decided to pass on.

Civilian Driving Vs. the Trail Trip:

The 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST First Edition will have the on-road focus with 3.9 inches of height adjustability, while the Hummer’s Extract mode increases ground clearance by 5.8 inches. Both trucks have the benefit of 4-wheel steering, with the Hummer riding on knobby 18-inch 305/70-series Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires. The Silverado rolls on 24-inch wheels with a heightened sense of style wrapped in 275/50-series Michelin Primacy LTX tires, sporting a considerably less aggressive tread pattern. The Work Truck trim models will see it suitable to roll on smaller 18-inch wheels with much taller sidewall tires to see you through your daily duties.

Separate Ways to Snatch up Fresh Air:

The 2021 Chevy Silverado EV RST First Edition models will all come equipped with a deep-tinted fixed glass roof that offers up better visibility for all passengers than a sliding panoramic roof. Hummer EV edition 1 pickups come equipped with three removable glass roof panels; one is a cross-car targa-style roof over the front seats and the other two are removable T-top-style panels that cover the rear. Our electric Silverado intends to separate passengers from the boiling pavement and noise of the highway or city, while the Hummer aims to let riders enjoy an all-encompassing off-road adventure.

Who Reigns Supreme in the Towing Department?

The electric Chevy Silverado roars out of the gate with 8,000 – 10,000 pounds of towing capacity as stacked up against the GMC Hummer’s 7,500. A special fleet variant that will be capable of towing 20,000 pounds is on schedule for 2025, further solidifying the Silverado EV’s mission that is geared towards the hardest and heaviest of work. Both pickups have a payload rating of around 1,300 lbs, and future work truck variants with smaller batteries and rear-wheel drive should weigh even less and be able to handle more payload. 

Silverado EV RST First Edition “Hotter Than Hot” Off the Line: Sells out in 12 Minutes!

Bloomberg is one of the reliable news sources that dishes out the scoop every day regarding automobiles, technology, living, and modern culture. We had watched eagerly as they delivered the scoop on the Silverado EV RST First Edition, and there was one sensational fact surrounding its arrival. It sold out in 12 minutes flat! GM CEO Mary Barra claimed in an interview that “reservations are still coming in, so we’re very excited about the response that we’re getting because this is a ground-up EV truck.”

Chevy plans to begin deliveries of the limited-run truck during fall 2023! Excited consumers will fully understand why the brand we love to represent here at West Chevy of Knoxville will come out on top in the electric game. The electric truck competition got even hotter as automakers will continue to make the eco-conscious transition to powertrains that forego the pump during the next few years. 

It has already been promised that the Silverado EV pickup will triumph over the Ford F-150 Lightning on a slew of performance metrics, including towing capacity, driving range, and passenger space. Both retail and fleet versions will be made available with additives such as a fixed-glass roof, marking this the first time that GM has made this a standard feature. It offers much greater visibility, increased headroom, and a more space during the long haul. The presence of the Ultium battery gives the vehicle an estimated range of more than 400 miles when fully charged, along with the brand-new feature of Four-Wheel-Steer.

Dual motors will turn all four wheels showcasing as much as 664 horsepower and over 780 lb-ft of torque. Official testing has rendered the 0-60 mph time in just under 4.5 seconds. When the premise of electrification was first a farfetched idea, fast charging was an option that was going to make the choosiest purchasers finally convert. Modern technology has reached a point of busy schedule saving marvel: DC fast charging at 350 kW will provide 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes. 

Towing capacity is one of the main draws of a truck; the Silverado EV can effectively do rounds on the daily with a 10,000-lb trailer or 1,300 lbs of cargo in the bed. The RST provides exciting features such as automatic adaptive air suspension, rear-wheel steering, Super Cruise, and a configurable pickup bed with the Multi-Flex Midgate. Everyone has been loving the effect that larger screens have on the interior, and we do not blame them! The RST brandishes a 17.0-inch center screen that stretches to an 11-inch digital instrument display. 

2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 will Flourish the V8 LT6 as “Civilian Version of Amazing Firecracker”

It was the summer of 2019 when Chevy first revealed the C8 Corvette. The staff hard at work on the MotorAuthority.com blog reported last week on the track-ready and ferocious Corvette Z06 variant. There is now a V8 code named the LT6, and it will fulfill the exciting role of a civilian firecracker that powers the C8.R endurance racer. There is so much to love about the new ‘Vette, and with all of the details on deck, the engine specs are still what many fans have come to know and love.

This engine displaces 5.5 liters and generates its power from full-on revs instead of forced induction with the tachometer able to fly to exhilarating heights above 8,600 rpm. The 670-hp peak power kicks in precisely at 8,400 rpm, while the peak torque of 460-lb ft arrives at 6,300 rpm. Everyone here at West Chevy of Knoxville was not surprised to see on the blog that many were pushing back against the future of electrification.

This attention-grabbing powertrain features double overhead cams, dry-sump lubrication, and a flat-plane crankshaft which delivers a note that compares ever so haughtily with that of a Ferrari V-8. The engineers on this project spent two years making painstaking tweaks to the vital exhaust and induction systems to finish things off and assure such an extreme soundtrack from the pipes. They also had an extreme focus on traction and steering responsiveness, which are both life-and-death elements that bode well on the track. 

Titanium intake and sodium-filled exhaust valves, forged aluminum pistons, titanium connecting rods, and an active split intake manifold with twin 87-millimeter throttle bodies. The engine’s light weight of the internals and short stroke are what makes the rev high-end quality for the Z06. The engine is paired with the same 8-speed dual-clutch transaxle transmission that is found in the Corvette Stingray. The 0-60 time is currently situated at 2.6 seconds, which is an astounding accomplishment for a rear-wheel-drive car.

This hefty quality of acceleration is available with a Z07 performance package that adds specific chassis tuning, precision-honed unique calibration for the Magnetic Ride Control dampers, and a carbon-fiber high rear wing. Combined with the added help of ground effects, these elements see the Z06 generate 734 pounds of downforce at 186 mph; you can even choose a carbon-fiber set that will step into the task and save 41 more pounds. This interior design is like what you find in the Stingray, and buyers can choose from a good number of carbon-fiber goodies to switch things up. The Z06 does boast the unique feature of a carbon-fiber wrapped steering wheel and the sleek and personable addition of carbon-fiber shifter paddles.