How Does the New Grand Sport Compare to the Z06?
How Does the New Grand Sport Compare to the Z06?
Corvette Forum Members Weigh in on the Great C7 Z06 Versus New Grand Sport Debate.
We love the Z06. Who wouldn’t? It’s top dog until the ZR-1 is released. But for must enthusiasts, the Grand Sport is just a better value.
Starting at $65,450, the Grand Sport offers a tremendous value. Particularly because it comes in a package that is essentially a Z06, just with the base Corvette’s more-than-capable 460-horsepower engine. It’s the ideal car for the sort of enthusiast that likes to daily drive their sports car, with the occasional autocross, track day, or HPDE thrown in.
Even better, at that price point, it handily beats anything else that’s remotely close. There is simply no other car that offers such a visceral experience for the money. Then again, $79,400 buys you a Z06, with that same great chassis, and almost 200 more horsepower.
To an experienced driver, that extra horsepower can be put to full use on a racetrack. There it would easily pull away from a Grand Sport on the straights, effortlessly showing its superiority. At nearly $80,000, it’s still an amazingly good value. But like the Grand Sport, it’s in a competitive price bracket, with plenty of intriguing rivals from Europe, Japan, and the United States.
Corvette Forum member vitaliyd7 created a thread about the perceived hero-worship of the Grand Sport. Most blame a combination of a botched launch for the Z06, coupled with the fact that the Grand Sport is the newest, brightest star in the Corvette family. We’re inclined to think of it as the Goldilocks Corvette for a lot of people — not too hot, not too cold, but just right.
