C8 Corvette Z06 Likely to Arrive for the 2022 Model Year
C8 Corvette Z06 Likely to Arrive for the 2022 Model Year
C8 Corvette Z06 reportedly wasn’t slated to arrive during 2020, pointing to a debut next year.
We know that Chevrolet is working on a spicier C8 Corvette and it will likely be the next Z06. There have been spy shots and insider information detailing the higher performance mid-engine machine. Unfortunately, there has never been any clean indication as to when the C8 Z06 might arrive, until now.
Detroit News recently published a report talking about General Motors adjusting deliveries from supplies in the coming months. A “future variant of the Chevrolet Corvette that was not slotted for 2020” was mentioned in that report. There was no further information on that car, but we believe that this report is referencing the C8 Z06.
Mysterious Future Corvette
We should point out that a “future variant of the Chevrolet Corvette that was not slotted for 2020” could be multiple different models. Perhaps it’s the new Grand Sport. Perhaps it’s the ZR1 or the Zora, if the company opts to use that name. However, many industry experts and analysts expect the Z06 to arrive next. That leads us to believe that this report referenced the Z06.
We expect that the C8 Corvette Z06 will have a handful of key component changes. On the outside, we expect more aggressive aero bits and unique wheels. In terms of performance, we expect either a twin turbocharged LT-based engine or possibly a flat-plane crank V8. In either of those cases, the Z06 would require unique components from a supplier, and those components will be received sometime in 2021.
Debut Possibilities
It seems as though these components were expected to arrive from suppliers during the 2020 calendar year. The Corvette on which those parts would be used was not expected to arrive this year. That points towards a 2021 debut. If the C8 Z06 was scheduled to debut during the 2021 calendar year, it would likely do so as a 2022 model. A 2021 model year vehicle debuting in 2021 would lead to a very short model year. Seeing as how the company was initially acquiring these components during 2020, we suspect that the plan may have been to launch the Z06 early in 2021 as a 2022 model year vehicle.
If that was the case, the company could still release the C8 Corvette Z06 for the 2022 model year, but it will likely be a bit later in 2021. More importantly, if Chevrolet isn’t getting the components for this mysterious Corvette variant until sometime during the 2021 calendar year, it all-but-guarantees that the Z06 will not be a 2021 model year vehicle.
Photos: Corvette Forum, Chevrolet
