2001 Chevrolet Corvette - Page 1 Review

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Shopping for a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette? MSRP: $40,280 - $48,055

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by Howard Walker

Vettes are fast, right? As in tire-smokin’, gut-wrenching, eyeball-poppin’ fast. Fast enough to rocket you from zero to 60 in the time it takes to say "Er, sorry, Officer. Won’t happen again."

But now there’s a new Corvette that takes fast to a higher dimension. Count slowly from one to four and that’s the time it takes the brand new Corvette Z06 to zoom from standstill to 60 mph.

And if that sounds fast, well, it is. V-e-r-y fast. To put it in perspective, the latest $115,000 Porsche 911 Turbo is left in the Vette’s dust. Ferrari F355? Not in the same league. And the Z06 isn’t some one-off race special. Within the next few weeks, it’ll be in your local Chevy showroom waiting to have its tires kicked. Yours for a mere $47,500.

Okay, we know $47,500 is a considerable sum. But when you’re talking bang for the buck, the Z06 is the automotive equivalent of a K-Mart blue light special. To get anywhere near this kind of staggering performance, you’re looking at a $70,000 Dodge Viper GTS. Or that $110k Porsche.

2001 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 dash

But what’s a Z06, I hear you ask? If you’re a Corvette buff, the mere whisper of the name will have you salivating like a puppy waiting for its next doggy treat. Go back to late 1962, when the legendary Corvette chief engineer, Zora Arkus-Duntov introduced the Z06 package to the then-new, split-window Corvette Sting Ray. It was essentially a racecar for the road. Powered by a big 5.7-liter ‘fuelie’ V-8, with beefed-up suspension and monster brakes, it was intended to be driven straight from the showroom to the track.