This week, we revealed that an astounding 45% of available new Corvettes across the US are Z06 models. As has become customary in the 2020s, it’s become second nature for most folks to simply read a headline – or worse, an (often wrong) AI summation/unverified social media post then jump to conclusions without looking into things themselves, and our post was no different.
The 45% tidbit led to a lot of hot takes around the internet (but you don’t need to look further than our comment section) about the nearly unanimous 2023 Performance Car of the Year suddenly lacking desirability. Unfortunately for the doom ‘n gloomers, the current Z06 can’t be classified as anything but a roaring success. Here’s the broader picture about the 8,600 RPM screamer’s marketplace performance through three model years on sale:
The Most Expensive Z06 in History has also been one of the Badge’s Best Sellers
To gauge how well the 2023+ Z06 is doing in the modern sports/supercar space, we’ll look at how it is selling compared to its predecessors through their first three model years. After some early production growing pains, Chevrolet managed to sell 6,413 C8 Z06s in 2023. For its sophomore campaign, that number impressively jumped to five digits at 10,575 and, as of July 4th, another almost 8,000 have been built for year three, resulting in a running total of 24,813 C8Zs in the wild so far.
During its first three years of 2015-17, the C7 version of the Z06 moved 30,201 examples on the back of an all-time high 14,275-unit run in 2016. When you consider the C7Z’s $79,000 original price point vs. the C8’s $106,395 (which has grown to $112,100 and will hit $119,695 in ’26, representing a 51.5% price increase since 2015!), a 17.8% drop in sales isn’t anything to scoff at. Even more interesting is the fact that the C8 Z06 is outpacing the $65,800 C6 Z06’s first three model years before the new car’s third trip around the sun has even wrapped up. The LS7-powered 505-horse Corvette benchmark notched 22,163 sales between hitting the market in 2006 and turning four in 2009.
On top of its much higher price point, the C8 Z06 is also putting up its remarkable sales numbers in the face of two factors that didn’t affect the C6 or C7 Zs until they were much further into their respective lifecycles. The first of these dynamics is internal competition. In its third year on sale, the C8 Z06 already has an “unimaginable” ZR1 sibling stealing its thunder. When the C6 ZR1 came out, C6 Z06 sales fell more than 55% to just 3,461. Before discussing the C7 ZR1’s impact on the C7 Z06, let’s discuss the second factor at play: generation fatigue. While the C6 and C7 Z06s were introduced in the second year of their Corvette generation, the current version was delayed until year four, meaning that its third year coincides with the C8 silhouette’s sixth year in showrooms. By the time the C6 had been around for six years, Z06 sales fell to just 518 units, which makes the C8’s still-growing 2025 tally of 7,825 look nothing short of miraculous. As for the C7, its sixth – and final – year on sale also coincided with the introduction of its own ZR1 big brother, bringing the same two-headed battle to the table that the 2025s are fighting right now. The result? Six thousand nine hundred thirty-seven examples found new homes in 2019, nearly 1,000 fewer units than the ’25 will have when the dust settles.
The Real Headline is the C8 Corvette’s Reliance on the Z06’s Popularity
After making up 25% of the total Corvette market in 2024, compared to 72% for the Stingray and just 3% for the E-Ray, the Z06 now accounts for one in every three (33%) Corvettes built in 2025, and again, that’s through July 4th. This year, the Stingray’s slice of the pie has fallen to 55%, its lowest percentage since 2019, when its 39.3% was supplemented by the widebody Stingray known as Grand Sport, which notched another 32.3%. With no Grand Sport in the picture in 2025, and the Hybrid AWD E-Ray still only accounting for 12% of Corvette sales (while the ZR1, plagued by its own lot of teething issues sits at just .2%), the C8 Z06 has had to pull far more weight than any Z-Badged Corvette has been saddled with in a full lineup before. Comparatively, the C7 Z06 only had to account for around 20% of annual production once the model range was completed in 2017
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Dealers Are Only Ordering Widebodies for Stock, and it isn’t the Z06’s ability to attract buyers that should worry GM.
Based on the slightly dissimilar numbers (this week’s inventory vs. July 4th production) provided by our previous stories, just 8% of the Stingrays built (1,115 out of 13,144) for 2025 so far are still on a lot searching for buyers. That incredibly low number points to dealers shying away from the base model for stock in favor of the pricier widebody C8s. There are more Z’s (1,592) than Stingrays in showrooms, but that number is still just 20% of known production, indicating that the other 80% of the 7,825 Z06s built to this point in ’25 are already putting smiles on lucky owner’s faces, and, as we discussed, here, the slowest selling examples are often inadvertently hamstrung by ho-hum cookie-cutter spec sheets, curtesy of overly cautious dealers. The E-Ray, on the other hand, has only earned 2,886 total orders in its second year on sale (usually the biggest year for sales numbers), and of those, 842 (29%) are still without buyers going into the 2026 model year. The car that was supposed to step into the Grand Sports sizable shoes, ironically struggling for traction in the marketplace, is a lot more concerning prospect to General Motors than the Z06’s 45% number above.
Closing Thoughts and Next Steps
Things aren’t all good for the 2025 Z06s, though, and all remaining ‘25s will be a little harder to sell once the 2026s and their refreshed interiors start hitting the scene, but on the other hand, they will also be significantly cheaper, and offer buyers the chance to get a new midengined Corvette at a significant discount from MSRP which is still difficult to type after all the hoopla over ADMs in the first half of the decade! Really, to paraphrase a pre-fall-from-grace Aaron Rodgers, who was addressing overacting Packers fans after a lackluster start to the 2014 NFL season, “Relax, the Z06 is doing fine… everything will be ok.” As for the E-Ray’s situation, we’re hoping the widely misunderstood model’s will be repositioned as a budget ZR1X and be able to ride the insane wave of hype around that 1,250-horsepower monster to greater sales success, but we also hope it leads to the long-awaited creation of a C8 Grand Sport to truly restore balance to the slightly off-kilter C8 Corvette family!
Related:
Nearly 45 Percent of Chevrolet’s Nationwide C8 Corvette Inventory are Z06s
Chevrolet’s Live Inventory Tracker for Corvettes Shows Inventories Fell Another 28% Over the Last Month
Constraints for the Mid-July 2025 Corvette Order Cycle
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The E-Ray is a wildly misunderstood car. A moniker that confuses people into thinking it’s all electric (still, to this day). AWD which has been long maligned by domestic US brands as “heavy” and “useless” and something for “euro trash cars”. And performance which is insanely quick–but not raucous about doing so.
It remains misconstrued in the minds of many–because they cannot conceive of how GM would make a Corvette–send it to finishing school–and have a proper grand tourer that gives the likes of the 911 Turbo S (vs. the Z06 aimed at the GT3). But more than that, it’s actually gunning for the likes of the Bentley Continental GT.
It’s a shame that GM didn’t try to badge it as a Cadillac and soften the lines–as that would have cemented the intent…cosmetically. The dearth of E-Ray orders and take rates are largely due to dealerships falling into the same trap; they order Z06’s thinking that’s what will sell. But your average person browsing at the lot will be a lot happier after 2 months–if they have an E-Ray instead of a Z06. I’m guessing a lot of those Z06’s are now seen as too pricey, not good enough (ZR1 incoming), or just not worth the price bump over the E-Ray (and the accompanying compromises to NVH that come with it). And that probably means a lot of trade-ins from people who realized after 6 months that the Z06 isn’t the C8 they wanted.
It’s not doom. But there isn’t some silver lining here. There’s a niche demographic that wants/needs/loves a c8 Z06. And when that demographic is served–there isn’t much additional demand. The rest of the C8 lineup has more fleshed-out demographic segments–even though many still haven’t realized the genius of the E-Ray.
I just finished the Ron Fellows ERay class a few days ago. That car is a freaking rocket ship off the line and can do a lot more on the track than what people think it can. With the heat and elevation, plus changes to the car’s wheel camber for the track, I only managed a 0-60 in 2.8, but it was still accelerating so fast I didn’t think I’d have room to stop in time. One of the ERay owners in our class said he’s gone 0-60 in 2.1. Unless a person is going to use their C8 primarily on the track, I can’t see any reason for anything faster. I know the ZR1 and ZR1X sound incredible, but where on earth is anybody going to actually use all that power?
I guess I’m in the overwhelming minority here but if I could afford any new C8 my only choice would be the Z06 with Z07. As I’m cruising around in my common C7 Z51 Stingray I love it every time a C8 Z06/Z07 has come by blowing my doors off and hearing it’s distinctively loud FPC engine and the rear view look with it’s high wing as the car rapidly leaves me in the dust.
Just can’t rave enough about my 2025 LOADED ERay. Good load, what a car. Really desired AWD since my ‘91 300 GTVR4. Used to blow Corvette doors off, particularly in the Texas hill country. Then the tables turned and I added 2008 Z06. Wow. The ERay is svelte, sexy and vicious. Sea Wolf grey with adrenaline red 3LT interior. What the hell will GM do after the ZR1X? Actually thinking of a supercharger from Boost Direct or ProCharge that would make a ZR1X Jr. Love torque. Not bad for an 84 year old gear head/car nut. Gig ‘Em ‘63.
Give me a low mileage clean C7 Z06 Z07 with a M7 and I am happy. It’s easier to work on with less issues and is fast enough for any street car.
Good analysis albeit unclear (as usual) if this is model year numbers or calendar year numbers. Plus not sure it accounts for global sales versus US sales. Global is a 12% addition to the whole.
I love my C7.R. I like the C8 a little, but not a lot. I don’t see myself ever getting a C8. I had a C5 that really liked a lot, I didn’t care much for the C6, love the C7, but the C8 looks like a failed Ferrari 458 experiment.
The E-Ray is a secret! It is a Vette though also has some Caprice, Silverado and Coupe de Ville DNA. It is quick and comfortable. Lovely.
ABC, your criticisms of the numbers at play are valid and I hoped to convey their not-quite scientific nature in the text. I was just using the available data to paint a wider picture.
Robert, I agree that the Z07 is one of the three most compelling new cars in the world right now (along with the manual transmission versions of the CT5 Blackwing and 911 GT3), and would certainly be my choice of Corvette, if finances permitted, which is why I felt compelled to do this writeup – didn’t like folks disparaging a genuine masterpiece!
I saw over a dozen c8s this week.
Not one Lotus.
In early 2023 my friend was notified that a new Z06/Z07 coupe was available for sale at a local dealer. The dealer wanted a $50,000 bribe, but would “talk”. My friend seriously considered stretching his cash and credit to offer $20K over. I talked him out of it. I said: “It’s a mass production car, not limited and in a year or two that premium will evaporate”. He’s now glad we had that conversation. In July 2024 the ZR1 with the LT7 was officially announced. Turbocharging overcomes the Z06 flat plane crank “torque deficit”. LT7 makes SO much more hp and torque, but with the same “street” fuel consumption as LT6. The LT7 is a much more advanced and impressive engine. So I will be skipping Z06 to go for ZR1 or ZR1X.
Some say that the C8 is a failed Ferrari 458 experiment. What’s wrong with Corvette giving Americans Ferrari-like looks and performance for 1/3rd the price? 2023 C8 sales were 2nd highest in Corvette history. Thousands of actual buyers paying on average $100,000 for a C8 disagree with armchair curmudgeons that don’t like C8 styling.
I feel the corvette market has reached a level where most Americans cant afford one and when you start purchasing a 6 figures car its more of an investment than a vehicle thats why the foreign exotic market makes more sense for me when I’m ready to sell. They hold there value and not once have I lost money doing just that. American cars just depreciate too fast!
I have had 3 C8’s. two were standard models. I just picked up my New ERay htc. It is absolutely a fantastic vehicle. I considered the z but I am not interested in going 200mph @8600 rpm. I respect the vehicle but when i considered the 0 to 60 time plus the free carbon ceramic brakes and mag ride, It was an easy decision. Of course the big lower price for this super car certainly helped. The ERay rides like a rolls Royce. I plan on keeping this car for a while also.
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