rcallen484

I was totally out of the Corvette loop in 2004/5 and was certainly not a member of this Forum. For those that were, what information/rumors was(were) out there about what turned out to be the Z06 back when the C6 was first introduced?

LFZ

Rumor had it that it would have a 427. It was true...since then I was sold.

rcallen484

Was the rumor that it would be like the older big block 427 (express or implied) or were people actually predicting the new small block 427 that materialized?

LFZ

I remember watching a TV show back in the day when the rumors were starting. The show was about Jay Leno taking an Oldsmobile Toronado and putting a TT 1000hp engine in it. The show showed an LS motor coming out of the crate, and Jay mentioned it was a GM prototype engine that wasn't released yet. When they briefly glimpsed the GM engine sheet, it said "425 CID". I knew then...well, if that's a prototype 425...then the next high performance Vette was for sure going to have a 427 and it did.

budgreen3564

The car was referred to as "Blue Devil" and some thought it would be named that. Rick Waggoner is alumnus from Duke.

saplumr

Rumer was you needed to mortgage your house to pay for excessive bump sticker!

RapidC84B

Actually that was the code name for the ZR1 not the Z06.

OnPoint

Yeah, and I recall it came about after Rick drove the Z06 he climbed out of it exclaiming what a great machine it was, and muttered something along the lines of "I wonder what they could build for a 100k".

Team heard that and ran with it.

need-for-speed

There were a few people who mentioned that but these were people that didn't know if a piston is round or square.

Anyone that knew anything about cars knew that the old BBC would never again see the light of day due to emissions, MPG, Reliability, weight, etc. and that the bore and stroke of the current LSx engine would be massaged to make approx 427 CID.

The BBC of the 60's couldn't outperform an LS3, much less, an LS7

rcallen484

I agree with everything you said but I was really intending to ask if it was thought having a Chevy 427 engine would mean having an actually bigger block? That certainly would have been my knee-jerk reaction.

elegant

Lot of posts that the motor was NOT going to be a 7.0 L 427, but a 6.4L.

Well, like most rumors, that one was plain wrong.

rcallen484

And that was after it was known that the LS2 would be 6.0L? Where did 6.4L figure come from? Does that compute out to some iconic cubic inch number?

need-for-speed

Yes there were some who brought up that very question. However, anyone who was knowledgeable on the engine compartment packaging limitations of the C6 ( hoodline height, available room in the engine compartment, etc) as well as the restrictions placed on car manufacturers today knew better. There was room to increase the bore and stroke of the LSx family of engines and that was the logical way to go.

davidwp97

Pictorial C6 Z06 history that I collected back then:



Above - This pic first seen November 12, 2003 but said to have been taken July 23, 2003. It was the first complete body that was seen of the base C6 but note that they were already considering flares.



Above – June 20, 2004 – The first look at the actual fender flares.



Above – October 19, 2004 – One of two Z06 test mules spotted. Lots of details to ponder.



Above – First released November 9, 2004 – Then, on November 10, 2004, GM asked several commercial sites to remove this picture. We knew it was important.



Above – On Sunday evening, January 10, 2005, the 2006 Corvette Z06 was officially announced to the world.

David
palmeter.com

LFZ

^ I remember all those! Amazing as it was a long time ago.... Great post!