2007 Corvette Z06: All-American Power Supercar

You really have to hand it to Chevrolet; by sticking to the old American standard of "bigger equals better", they've created a high performance monster. Powered by the LS7 V8 engine, the Corvette Z06 boasts 505 stock horsepower with a varying price tag of around $80,000. It's not the cost or power of the machine that make it worth writing about, but the combination of the two.

The Z06 is the 'poor'-man's supercar; it's loaded with an enormous seven liter V8, all-wheel drive, and a fine tuned six-speed manual transmission. It sticks to the road just as well as an F430, and arguably, a lot better than many larger engine supercars. This isn't to say that the Z06 is faster than an Aston Martin or Ferrari; it's just that no one expected a car priced under a hundred grand to outperform the traditional leaders of the pack on any level, and that's exactly what the Z06 does. In fact, a souped up version known as the Blue Devil Z06 recently ran Nurburgring with a time of 7:40, setting the second fastest time behind only the Porsche Carrera GT at 7:32. The Italians have taken notice, and the Lamborghini LP640, a 640 horsepower version of the Murceilago, is already on sale and Ferrari will be debuting the F430 Scuderia this coming autumn. It won't be topping the lists for long, but the success of the Z06 was a surprise to everyone, and for good reason.

There's a lot to love about the Z06; the low growl of the engine, the seamless shifting, the way it commands the road - it's hard to believe that GM would ever allow this All-American legend and their flagship supercar to succumb to their biggest flaw, but General Motors never ceases to fail in this respect. The only luxury you get is the seating, and they aren't even that great. You don't even get a sporty steering wheel, just a Corvette-badged Cobalt wheel. This isn't necessarily terrible, it's just that one expects a little more than plastic and cheap leather when the cost is so high. There are some nifty aftermarket solutions, but that really doesn't excuse this lack of effort on the manufacturer's part. Part of owning a supercar or luxury vehicle is that it feels like that way; the Z06 should not feel like an $18,000 dollar Chevy, and that eighty grand should go to more than just an LS7.

Despite the lack of interior, the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is truly a marvel and a bargain. It costs a lot less than similarly performing cars, it comes with a warranty worth considering, and it's simply a hell of a lot of fun to drive. Sure, it's no Gallardo and certainly not an Enzo, but if you're reading this article, you're looking for the highest possible speed at the lowest possible price. Having been fortunate to take most of the cars mentioned in this piece for test-drives, I guarantee that the Z06 is the only car that is worth more than the sum of its parts - if you aren't allergic to plastic.