Is this Corvette Z06 ‘One Off’ Truly Gorgeous?

Look closely, does anything seem off about this Corvette?

On initial impressions, this C6 Z06 looks nice, but it seems a bit off. Look a bit a closer and you might start noticing a few things. For instance, what’s up with the front bumper? Or the fenders, for that matter?

This isn’t a C6 Z06. This isn’t even a C6 Corvette. What this actually is, is a C5 Z06 with extension body modifications. We found this…interesting…take on the C5.5 via Craigslist, and the more we looked, the more questions we had.

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The sellers claim to have “fabricated” those C6-style headlights to fit the stock C5 bumper, fenders, and hood. To our eyes, they look to have taken a dremel to a stock C6 light to make it fit. Though, when you click on the full-size images, the hood line seems to be a bit off between the bumper and hood base.

OK, looking beyond that, the side profile is all C5Z…until you reach the quarter panels. A very aggressive fender flare has been molded into the quarter panels, giving this C5 some very big hips. It actually looks quite neatly done, at least, from a virtual distance. It’s a good thing those big fenders are present, because those real C6 Z06 wheels, in black chrome, need a lot of room.

Out back, a larger rear winglet has been blended into the rear fascia, offering a similarly aggressive look. From the grainy, Instagram-filterized pictures, it looks like OE-style LED tail lights are also part of the equation.

Pop the Hood!

Things get better under the hood. The LS6 engine has been treated to a bottom end rebuild, which is interesting for a car with just 71,000 miles. The seller claims they did it “since I was basically redoing the entire top end.” We will give him a pass for that, because this is not a stock LS6.

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This LS6 pretty much has all of the usual “bolt-ons,” and a few hidden mods that LS1tech forum members would describe as “stock.” It has upgraded heads, a cam, a FAST intake manifold, Vararam intake, headers, full exhaust and a bigger throttle body. In the seller’s words: “This is all good for professionally tuned Monster 481 Rwhp with 421 foot pounds of torque She fast!!.” Sounds like a bit of a glory-boy dyno, considering California’s piss-water 91-octane, but we’ll give it a pass on that. The seller claims that the motor has about 6,000 miles on it since the rebuild.

The interior, similarly, also gets upgrades. Though, in most everyone’s eyes, they are pretty tasteful. The stock seats are retained, for better or worse, but the inlay is now alcantara. Likewise, the dash and other trim pieces have been wrapped with the velvety goodness.

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So, is this 2002 C5 Corvette Z06, which is masquerading as a 2006+ C6 Z06, worth the seller’s big $22,999 asking price? We’ll leave it to the Corvette Forum faithful to make a judgment on this one.

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