TopSpeed Names the 2015 Corvette Z06 its Performance Car of the Year

For the second year in a row, a Corvette has taken a TopSpeed Car of the Year award.

A year ago, it was the 2014 Corvette Stingray that was named the TopSpeed Car of the Year.

This time around, TopSpeed broke its awards down into three categories, and the 2015 Corvette Z06 was named Performance Car of the Year.

The Z06 was a near-unanimous choice among TopSpeed’s editors, beating out competitors like the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe.

The editors praised the Z06 for its performance, noting that its 2.95 seconds from 0 to 60 put it “in a rather exclusive league of supercars,” and its interior, which “sets yet another new benchmark for the Corvette nameplate.”

Comments from TopSpeed editors include some high praise:

Associate Editor Mark McNabb:
“Best of all it still looks, sounds and feels American with brash paint colors, wide fenders and a V-8 roar that you can hear for miles. >From a technical standpoint, from a speed and performance standpoint, and from a quality standpoint, the Z06 proudly proclaims that not only can America build a car, we can make a DAMN good one.”

Associate Editor Kirby Garlitos:
“There’s no doubt about it, the Z06 is perhaps the best all-out supercar out there, even without its pricing advantage.”

Associate Editor Jonathan Lopez:
“But the biggest and yet most understated thing about the Z06 is that it’s a bargain compared to some of Europe’s finest exotics. Sure, you can drop somewhere around $300,000 for those well-bred Germans and Italians, but why do it when you can patronize a true blue American product for a fraction of the cost. So get your Ferraris, Porsches, or McLarens. That’s all well and good. Just be sure that you can handle the heat when the Corvette Z06 comes knocking at your door.”

Associate Editor Ciprian Florea:
“It’s loud, brash, and in your face, which is exactly what you’d expect. Subtlety is just a whiff of exhaust from the supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 rumbling under the hood. It’s a slice of American pie with a stick of dynamite jammed into the crust. You could go with something more elegant, more sophisticated, more refined, but really, what’s the point? If the idea is speed, then go bowtie. Congrats, Chevy.”

Editor in Chief Justin Cupler:
“I must confess I’d find it hard to choose between a Corvette Z06 and a Challenger SRT Hellcat, but, feelings aside, the Z06 is the better car and the best performance vehicle 2014 had to offer. I’m not particularly excited about the Stingray’s looks, but the Z06 gets my vote for what lies underneath that sleek shell. It’s not too often that Chevrolet builds a street-legal Corvette based on its track-prepped sibling and this is what makes the Z06 unique. Rather than taking a standard Vette and stuffing it with a supercharged engine and chassis upgrades, Chevy developed the Z06 alongside the C7.R race car.”

Source:
TopSpeed.com

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