2023 Corvette Z06 Proves Traction Beats Peak Power When Racing Shelby GT500

The 2023 Corvette Z06 may be less powerful than the S550-gen Shelby GT500, but it still makes mincemeat of its foe on this particular day.

By now, everyone is well aware of the fact that the 2023 Corvette Z06 is a highly capable machine, one that can run with – and in some cases beat – far more expensive exotics and supercars. However, one vehicle we haven’t yet seen the 2023 Corvette Z06 line up against is the S550 generation Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, which actually makes more power than the latest, track-focused Corvette. Recently, Edmunds pitted these two machines against each other in its unique “U-Drag” race, and the results are not only interesting, but also proof that power means nothing without traction.

While some have proclaimed that the 2023 Corvette Z06 can be difficult to launch at the drag strip, it certainly fares better than the GT500 here, in spite of its power disadvantage. It “gets by” with GM’s naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter LT6 V8, which is the most powerful such V8 in production car history with an output of 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, flowing to the rear wheels via an 8-speed dual clutch gearbox and moving 3,681 pounds – giving it a power to weight ratio of 5.49 pounds per horsepower.

That’s actually slightly worse than the GT500, which churns out 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque from its supercharged 5.2-liter Predator V8, yet tips the scales at a portly 4,168 pounds – giving it a power to weight ratio of 5.48 pounds per horsepower. It too gets the benefits of a quick-shifting dual clutch transmission, in this case rowing through seven gears.

Right off the bat, our GT500 driver notes that this car tends to overpower its tires off the line – even with launch control engaged, which could prove to be a big problem. However, the U-Drag involves not only accelerating to a point, but also turning around and racing back, which oftentimes throws a proverbial monkey wrench into things.

That isn’t the case on this particular day, as this series of races isn’t even close. The C8 Corvette Z06 simply walks away from the more powerful pony car, and even during a bad braking run, it still wins by a country mile – proving once again that peak power numbers mean nothing if you can’t get that power to the ground effectively.

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