C8 Corvette Stingray vs Z06: The Ultimate Comparison?

After living with a C8 Corvette Stingray for a while and driving a Z06, this reviewer gives us a truly fascinating insight into both.

The C8 Corvette Stingray quite literally set the automotive world on fire when it debuted for the 2020 model year, even though we essentially knew precisely what to expect from the legendary model’s switch to a mid-engine format months prior. Since then, as is usually the case, supply has caught up with demand and prices have fallen, which will soon also be the case with the red hot Z06. Then, C8 Corvette shoppers will have a very important question to ask themselves – which one should they buy? Luckily for them, we just came across what seems to be the most extensive comparison between the C8 Corvette Stingray and Z06 posted by a Reddit user who goes by the handle eaglerulez.

As is often the case, this post came about as the person who wrote it already owns a C8 Corvette Stingray with the Z51 package, and yet, is coveting the Z06. Thus, they set about going down a deep proverbial rabbit hole that ended with renting a Z06 via Turo, after which they came up with an incredibly detailed comparison between the two.

Performance & Handling

First up, we have the topic of performance, and in that regard, our reviewer admits that they’re “a little disappointed with the power in the C8 Stingray. Now don’t get me wrong, the Stingray is objectively a very quick car. However, I daily drive a Model 3 Performance and am just addicted to the instant torque it provides.” “The Z06 basically solves every issue I have with the Stingray’s power characteristics,” they add, noting that it’s more responsive and has plenty of torque available through the rev range.

The Z06 in comparison feels like it’s instantly wanting to move, even at low RPM’s, and as you burry your foot into the throttle the power just builds and builds and builds all the way to redline. I also want to note that the torque curve on the Z06, though technically more peaky compared to the Stingray, is still very broad. I often found myself feeling like I was getting plenty of torque at say 6,000RPM which is still way below redline. A peaky torque curve is something more akin to my old Elise where the torque was had from 6200 rpm to 8500rpm and it was completely gutless everywhere below. So if you’re worried about torque on the Z06, don’t be. It’s insanely responsive and wants to pull you all the way to redline.

In terms of ride and handling, our reviewer says that the Stingray is “probably the best riding sports car you can get at the moment,” but they also found “the Z06’s suspension to be great and perfectly livable on the streets.” “For the extra suspension stiffness, the Z06 feels much more willing to respond to steering inputs (not that the Stingray isn’t very willing to respond to steering inputs already) and you do get the sensation that the Z06 is just a bit more alive and responsive than the Stingray is,” they add.

The Z06 also feels like it delivers no matter what mode it is in. Touring feels like a great blend of sportiness and comfort. In a Stingray it feels a little too comfort driven and docile. Sport feels properly aggressive and engaging. In a Stingray the car is just starting to come to life in sport. Track feels like a proper “full kill” mode, whereas in a Stingray track is more of a “do you want to the road to be more bumpy?” mode. Heck I even find myself using My Mode in the Z06 to help quiet down the exhaust in stealth mode. Don’t get me wrong, the Stingray is still a wonderfully calibrated car. It’s just in the Z06 every mode feels good and necessary, whereas in a Stingray you’re generally using the modes to try to get as much life out of the car as possible.

1LZ vs 2LT

In addition to exploring the performance and handling and sound and driving experience between the two C8 siblings, the eaglerulez also did an extensive breakdown between the 1LZ and 2LT interior trim levels. To be fair, the 1LZ packages available in the Z06 and E-Ray aren’t exactly the same as the 1LT in the base Stingray. But they’re very close. So, for anyone trying to decide between the base and middle interior packages, it’s a very helpful write-up.

First, for those worried that the 1LT or 1LZ will feel too basic, they do not. Another major difference is the 10-speaker vs 14-speaker Bose stereo system, but again, the Redditor didn’t hear much of an upgrade. “I literally drove both cars at the same volume with the same playlist playing and had a hard time picking up a major difference between the sound systems.” Eaglerulez was disappointed with the lack of heated and ventilated seating in the 1LZ, but noted that the Z06 is “so visceral and engaging” that he could live without that feature. Plus, despite being a fan of the GT2 seats in the 2LT, the GT1 seats, ” seats feel pretty comparable to me and they kind of came around on me the more I spent time in the Z06. So I don’t think you can pick a bad seat option in the C8.”

So in short if your Z06 is a weekend only car, and you want to use it mainly as a point A to point A vehicle. A 1LT may actually be perfectly fine to live with. You have enough options to keep you properly comfortable while making the price point a bit more accessible. You basically just sacrifice everything that makes parking and preventing an accident easier. However if you plan to spend more considerable time in the car a 2LT is definitely worth the price jump. However if the 1LT is the only way you can get into a Z06 for some reason, don’t let that be something that deters you by any means.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s pretty clear which car our reviewer prefers. “While I enjoy my C8 Stingray, it honestly just did not win me over in the year that I owned the car,” they said. “Yes the car is very capable, quick, practical, and legitimately fun to drive, but to me it just lacked a little bit of personality and a little bit of specialness to really become a ‘forever’ car. I rented the Z06 thinking that it would not improve upon the Stingray quite enough to really keep me away from EVs. I figured the Z06 would be my last check box to say ‘hey I tried everything and ICE engines just don’t do it for me anymore,’ and the Z06 just completely changed my perspective and totally renewed my love for Corvettes.”

For me the Z06 can legitimately be a forever car and it’s something I’m very much looking in to purchasing. I was also quite interested in the E-Ray from a pure performance standpoint, but I think the emotion and visceralness of the Z06 (along with packing plenty of speed and performance over the base Stingray) is worth the trade offs that an E-Ray could provide. I think the instant torque of the E-Ray is cool, but I just can’t see how GM is going to make the engine sound loud and present enough in the E-Ray for it to feel like a better experience than the Z06.

Now I don’t think the Z06 is quite worth a $180K price tag or anything like that. However I think you get tons of value at the $120k-$140K price point that a modestly specced Z06 MSRP’s for. Fortunately the market for Z06’s is somewhat cooling down, so little (or modest) markups could be on our horizon somewhat soon. If you like your Stingray but don’t love it, a Z06 is likely the car you want to love.

It’s an interesting comparison for sure, and our reviewer also notes that the Z06 just feels “special,” whereas the Stingray does not, and that’s something that most of us can relate to. Of course, the big caveat here is that they only feel like the Z06 is vastly superior if one can find an example at MSRP, which isn’t easy to do at the moment. In any event, this is a truly interesting look at both cars, and we’d highly recommend heading over here and reading this amazing review in its entirety!

Photos: Chevrolet

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