2025 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 review

What a tease.

I got the keys to this Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – complete with the Z07 Performance Package – one unrelentingly rainy week, one in which I had no track time scheduled.

So here I was in this wild-looking, track-ready supercar, and I couldn’t unleash its full potential. It was like having a bag full of tools and no DIY project.

But hey, even if you did plan on buying and tracking Chevy’s new flat-plane crank V8-powered Z06, that’s theoretically only going to account for a small portion of your overall driving. For track impressions, you can check out James Wong’s review.

So what’s the Z06 like to live with? That I can tell you!

First thing you’ll need to know is this car is an introvert’s nightmare. I don’t think I’ve ever driven a car that has attracted more attention, with the already aggressively styled Z06 enhanced further by the Z07 Performance Package.

Our tester wore carbon-fibre ground effects and dive planes, plus an enormous rear wing.

The result? Kids jumping up and down waving. People sticking their mobile phones out of car windows filming. Hell, someone even followed me down a street and pulled over as I was parking and asked to take pictures of it.

The Z06 looks absolutely wild, and with the current C8 moving the engine from up front to midship, it has proportions more closely resembling much pricier Ferrari and Lamborghini supercars.

It’s the first Corvette with a double overhead-cam, flat-plane crank V8, and slots in above the pushrod V8-powered Stingray and the electrified E-Ray, the latter of which uniquely features a hybrid system and all-wheel drive.

Missing from our shores thus far is the ZR1, which takes this new 5.5-litre V8 and bolts on a pair of turbochargers, or the recently revealed ZR1X that combines this engine with an AWD hybrid system like the E-Ray’s.

If there was ever any question before that the Corvette was a supercar, that seems to have been well and truly answered with the C8. And it’s the only American supercar, now that the Dodge Viper is gone and the Ford GT has died again.

The way the light bounces off the spoiler at night might bring to mind the ’59 ‘batwing’ Chevys, but this is a bona-fide Ferrari competitor. And yet, it’s also surprisingly liveable.

How much does the Chevrolet Corvette cost?

The Z06 is, thus far, the priciest member of the local Corvette lineup.

It looks like a bargain, especially considering the cheapest Ferrari is a $500k-plus proposition. But our tester had a raft of pricey options, including:

• 20/21-inch visible carbon-fibre wheels: $23,990
• Carbon-ceramic brakes: $16,990
• Carbon-fibre rear spoiler: $13,000
• Visible carbon-fibre ground effects: $7990
• Jet Black interior: $7020
  • Competition seats featuring Nappa leather
  • Carbon-fibre trim
• Z07 suspension with Magnetic Ride Control: $6720
• Bright red brake calipers: $1625
• ‘Stealth’ interior trim: $1560

That’s close to $80,000 in options. We imagine plenty of Ferrari and Lamborghini buyers drop that much (or more) in options, but it’s surprising to see just how long the options list is on a Corvette – and how much opportunity you have to really personalise your sports car.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

What is the Chevrolet Corvette like on the inside?

Let’s address the elephant in the cabin.

Chevrolet recently revealed an update for the Corvette that makes some significant changes to its interior, including the removal of the distinctive row of buttons on the side of the centre console that separates the passenger’s side of the cabin.

Other changes include a larger touchscreen and a rejigged centre console.

Therefore, a lot of the gripes we have with the outgoing C8’s cabin will soon be addressed. I’m personally a bit sad to see the wacky button bridge go, though.

What won’t change with the update is the basic layout, and that’s a good thing.

The design is striking, with a very driver-focused cockpit that sees the touchscreen angled towards the driver.

Getting in is a bit tough but once you’re in it’s comfortable, even for my lanky 6’3’’ nephew in the passenger seat.

The seats are heated and ventilated and prove grippy and supportive, ideal for a spirited blast without sacrificing day-to-day comfort. Your passenger may be shocked to find there’s no grab handle, however.

The driver sits behind a squared-off, chunky steering wheel with carbon-fibre trim, which can also be found in various places throughout the cabin, including the centre console, and it’s applied tastefully.

Set these pieces aside, and essentially every surface has been given the appearance of being leather-wrapped, with prominent stitching. This is deceptive, however.

There’s soft-touch trim on the doors and the sides of the centre console, where we’d argue this is crucial. But there’s a lot of hard plastic too, including the hood over the instrument cluster.

At circa-$190,000 for the base Stingray, I could almost let this slide, but at the circa-$330,000 price point of the Z06 it’s disappointing. At least all the trim, whether hard or soft, looks uniform, though we did observe some janky stitching on one side of the centre console.

There’s a handy head-up display, while the instruments are all digital and feature multiple different layouts.

Chevrolet has employed slick graphics for the digital cluster, which are reminiscent of Lotus’ Unreal Engine-based graphics, however they’re let down by some slight pixelation.

The infotainment system will be familiar to anybody who has been in a recent Chevrolet product, much like some of the physical switchgear.

But the infotainment system works well, with an intuitive menu structure, a reliable wireless connection for smartphone mirroring, and attractive graphics, and like the carryover switchgear it works well. Would buyers really notice these items were used in lesser Chevrolets if it wasn’t pointed out by motoring journalists?

We will ding Chevy for the column stalks, however – these could be much nicer for this price point. Also, the cupholders are terrible as they lack a rubberised base and look cheap. You can also get a mobile phone stuck in the gap next to the lid when it’s open, and it’s a nuisance trying to retrieve it.

The air-conditioning is excellent, which is to be expected for a company that once counted Frigidaire as one of its subsidiaries.

Having the controls on that unusual ‘bridge’ seems goofy at first, but it’s refreshing to have physical switchgear for all of this and it’s easily accessible by both occupants. Alas, this design cue is going away with a coming MY26 upgrade.

Storage isn’t exactly abundant in the cabin, though you do get a centre console bin.

There are two luggage compartments, one behind the engine and one up front. The one in the rear can fit an overnight bag or two, and you can squeeze a small duffel into the front compartment.

The Z06 can be had only as a coupe in Australia, though it has a removable roof panel. Pull two levers and it pops off easily, and if you manoeuvre it correctly it can fit in the rear luggage compartment.

If you look behind yourself, you can admire the engine, proudly displayed under a glass cover.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

The Z06 may be the priciest Corvette in Australia, but it’s not the quickest from 0-100km/h. The E-Ray beats it to the century by just one tenth of a second.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

How does the Chevrolet Corvette drive?

Let’s address the elephant in the drive first: the sound.

Australia uses the same exhaust setup as Europe, which sees the centre-mounted outlets replaced with four outlets, two on each side at the rear.

Not only does this make the Z06 look more like the cheaper Stingray and E-Ray, it means it doesn’t sound as good as either of those cheaper variants.

We parked a Z06 next to a E-Ray for a rev test – in the interests of science, of course – and it was the hybrid that sounded better. The Z06 also has a rev-limiter, preventing it from being revved beyond 3000rpm when stationary.

If you want to show off to your friends how your Z06 sounds, then, you’re going to be disappointed. Mind you, it doesn’t sound bad… it just doesn’t sound as good as a supercar at this price ought to.

Once you’re on the move, the Z06 has a distinctive sound of its own. It has a lovely metallic growl when you punch it, though it has a tendency to drone.

Settled into a cruise with the engine revving at around 2000rpm, there’s this omnipresent clatter of sorts. It’s a less common type of V8 with a less common type of noise, and you may or may not like it.

At least noise suppression in the cabin is good, allowing you to easily carry on a conversation even with the engine literally right behind you. And what a delight it is to look behind you and see that big V8 proudly on display.

You may or may not like the sound, but you’ll find it much harder to fault how this engine feels.

For starters, it’s bloody quick. You gather pace rapidly, and this is a V8 that loves to be revved.

The eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission handles the grunt of the 5.5-litre V8 terrifically.

At low speeds, it feels more like a traditional automatic, and in Touring and Weather drive modes the throttle is still progressive and isn’t dulled.

As you build up revs, the Z06 starts to pick up the pace and moves through the gears with ease. Shifts are rapid, and it doesn’t hold onto gears annoyingly long, even in Sport mode where they’re more pronounced.

The current gear helpfully appears in the instrument cluster, and I never felt the need to use those gorgeous carbon-fibre paddle shifters.

Naturally, in Sport mode shifts feel more pronounced. Drive modes are selectable via a rotary dial on the centre console.

Even more intuitive to use is the Z button on the steering wheel, which puts the steering, suspension, engine, engine sound, transmission and brakes in their most aggressive settings.

There’s also a customisable My Mode, allowing you to toggle your preferred settings for steering, suspension, engine sound and brake feel. I configured it to have the suspension in the softest setting, the steering to the intermediate setting, and engine noise to the loudest.

The steering is terrific in terms of weighting and feel, and the Z06 has a pointy nose with small inputs leading to direct movements.

Even in its intermediate weight setting, the Z06’s steering doesn’t feel overly heavy. The shape of the wheel and its slick carbon-fibre parts discourage you from driving with your hands at 10 and 2, so you’ll have to put them at 9 and 3 where they belong.

The Z06 handles like it’s on rails, feeling perfectly poised in corners. Oh how I wish I could have taken this to the track…

The tyres have an abundance of grip, and even in the wet there’s still a solid connection with the road. The carbon-ceramic brakes on our tester also work wonderfully, without feeling ridiculously grabby in regular driving.

You might think the Z06, looking the way it does, will feel too extreme for the daily commute. You’d be wrong.

Okay, I found it a bit stressful to drive, but that was almost entirely due to all that fragile-looking carbon-fibre on the exterior.

There is thankfully a nose lift system to prevent you from tearing up the bumper on your driveway, but you’ll still want to be careful in the Z06.

You can adjust the firmness of the suspension, and even in Sport mode it’s taut but comfortable.

Visibility out of the Z06 is awful, so what a relief Chevrolet included a digital rear-view mirror and blind-spot monitoring.

The Z06 has a reversing camera and two front cameras, which it stitches together for an overhead view. But there’s no traditional surround-view camera.

Also missing from the features list are rain-sensing wipers, which is a strange omission.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

What do you get?

The Z06 sits atop the local Corvette range.

2025 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 equipment highlights:

• 20-inch (front) and 21-inch (rear) alloy wheels
• Michelin Pilot Sport High Performance 4S run-flat tyres (275/30ZR20 front, 345/25ZR21 rear)
• Brembo six-piston front and four-piston rear brake calipers
• Z06 Performance Suspension
• Magnetic Selective Ride Control
• Performance Traction Management
• Manually adjustable suspension (camber front and rear, height rear only)
• Quad exhaust outlets
• Electronic limited-slip differential
• Front lift system
• Digital rear-view mirror
• LED headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• Proximity entry with push-button start
• Power-folding, heated exterior mirrors
• Soft-close engine hatch cover
• Soft-close front bonnet
• Removable roof
• 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• 12-inch digital instrument cluster
• Head-up display
• Performance Data Recorder
• 14-speaker Bose sound system
• 8-way power-adjustable GT2 front seats
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated, leather and carbon-fibre steering wheel
• Tilt and telescopic steering column adjustment
• Dual-zone climate control
• Wireless phone charger

There’s also a huge options list, and besides those mentioned earlier you can also specify your Z06 with various different wheels, stripes, and brake caliper and seatbelt colours, as well as a transparent roof.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

Is the Chevrolet Corvette safe?

The Chevrolet Corvette hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Autonomous emergency braking (low-speed)
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-keep assist
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Front and front-side airbags
• Front and rear cameras
• Rear parking sensors

There’s also a digital rear-view mirror which, trust us, in a car with blind spots like this is most definitely a safety feature.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

How much does the Chevrolet Corvette cost to run?

The Corvette’s aftersales offering isn’t spectacular.

To see how the Chevrolet Corvette lines up against the competition, check out ourcomparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Given the price premium of not only the Z06 over other Corvettes, but also this loaded Z06 over the regular Z06, you’d want to be taking this to the track.

There’s no question this has a unique feel relative to the cheaper Stingray and E-Ray, from the distinctive engine note to the way power is delivered. Then there are the enhancements that come with the Z07 package, which help make the ‘Vette even more of a track weapon.

But the Z06 carries a premium of over $60,000 over an E-Ray and over $130,000 more than a Stingray, and that’s before you take into account options and on-road costs.

Is this the best Corvette for track work? In the absence of the ZR1 in Australia, we’d argue yes. And the Z06, despite its significant impost, is still cheaper than a comparable supercar with a bull or prancing horse badge.

You just need to decide how much that greater track focus over a Stingray is worth, and if that figure is more or less than $134,000. And if you are happy to pay Z06 money, we reckon a new exhaust should be your next purchase.

Regardless, the Corvette is playing in the big league now, and this is a compelling American alternative to Europe’s finest.

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