[POLL] Corvettes For Sale: What’s the Best Way to Carbon?

Since the Commemorative Edition 2004 Corvette Z06 became the first American automobile with a major body panel made of carbon fiber, there’s been a special connection between Z-badged ‘Vettes and the sixth element of the periodic table. After those 2,025 special C5s, two instances stand out as the strongest forms of this covalent bond between material and machine: the 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Special Edition and the 2018 Corvette Z06 Carbon 65 Edition.

In 2010, the five-year-old C6 Z06 that cut its teeth by bullying European exotics was starting to show some grey. Not only had the Porsches and Ferraris of the world reloaded to deal with the swaggering American that had been giving them wedgies since 2006, but in its own showroom, the Z06 was dealing with a supercharged sibling that not only usurped its throne in the hierarchy of Chevy Performance but also severely eroded its sales numbers.

Photo Credit: Bring a Trailer

After moving more than 6,200 units per year in its first three years on sale (peaking at 8,159 in ’07), demand for the beastly 7.0L C6 was more-or-less cut in half to 3,461 after the ZR1 hit the scene in 2009 and was all the way down to 518 in 2010 with its big brother’s line running at full capacity. To add insult to injury, it was also losing comparison tests for the first time in its career. Rather than simply phasing it out in favor of the more potent ZR1, the Corvette Team decided to raid the ZR1’s parts bin to create the ultimate Z06. With the Blue Devil’s massive ceramic breaks, carbon roof/aero, and magnetic ride control added to the formula, the Z07 was born, and the quote, unquote lesser of the high-performance ‘Vettes was officially back in the game with an astounding Nürburgring time that not only improved upon the ’06 car by 20 seconds, but it also beat the ’09 ZR1’s time by four ticks.

The Z07’s release just so happened to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Corvette to compete at Le Mans, so a special edition was launched to celebrate. This limited run of 252 included a windowless version of the ZR1’s carbon fiber hood and was rightly dubbed the Carbon Special Edition. Outside of a lone Black example built for Rick Hendrick, they were only available in Supersonic Blue or Inferno Orange, with the lion’s share (about a 2:1 ratio) going for the former. Through this Saturday, June 29th, Bring a Trailer has a live auction for one of the 66 Orangies. Its sequential VIN ends in 247, meaning that it was one of the last six Carbons assembled. It has amassed 14,000 miles since leaving Bowling Green and, as of writing, bidders have run the price up to $75,000.

The Carbon 65

Photo Credit: AvidAutosports.com

Corvette engineers maintained that there was never meant to be a C7 ZR1, and we tend to believe them because the next-gen Z06 came out of the gates swinging in 2015. It sprouted its own supercharger, pushing power and torque to 650, and the Z07 option was available from the word go. This time around, this ultimate performance RPO had similar content: ceramics made an encore, the stickiest available street tire was there, too. But, this time around, aerodynamic downforce was a major area of emphasis. The C7 Z06 immediately became the hardest cornering non-race car that publications had ever tested when equipped with the magic of Z07. For the ‘Vette’s 65th birthday, another shower of carbon fiber was the only way to improve the “Big Nasty.” Much to the relief of Frank Costanza, CF scores incredibly high in strength-to-weight ratio, but the material also addressed a common gripe of the ever-annoying Euro-set as it replaced a number of prominently displayed plastic exterior components. The smattering of beautiful weave was accented by a slick, under-the-radar Ceramic Matrix Gray perfectly accented with a splash of blue. This time around, the special edition package was offered on both Z06 and Grand Sport models, and Z07 had to be added separately during an abbreviated year for production that saw just 9,686 TOTAL ‘Vettes pieced together – the lowest yearly mark since 1959 (outside of 1983). Of those, a pre-planned 650 were Carbon 65s, and the final breakdown was a 353/297 split in favor of the Z, including 281 coupes and 72 droptops.

One of the most desirable C65s is currently on offer in the Land of Lincoln. Number 57 is one of the 281 Z06 coupes in the unique cohort. It also features the Z07 package, making it one of 162 so ordered, and it has the 7-speed manual, which puts it in a class of just 128. This perfect build shows 33,632 miles and a damaged rear diffuser on the Carfax that was replaced. With that mileage, the asking price of $97,975 might be a little aggressive, but who are we to argue with such a fine spec of an impossible year to find, especially when the current Z06 starts about $18k above that mark?

Your Call

Last week, in our Battle of the Browns, the recently retired Caffeine Metallic handily beat the early C8’s Zeus Bronze paint, taking an impressive 39% (514) of the 1,321 votes. Zeus did notch itself a silver medal with 395 backers (30%). Just 9% (117) of respondents claimed to like both colors equally, while “I don’t like either brown” took third place with a final tally of 295 (22%).

So, what’ll it be this week, Corvette fans? Vote for your favorite Carbon below:

Source:
AvidAutosports.com and Bring a Trailer

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