2023 Corvette Z06 Morphs into Sports Pickup That America Might Want

A couple of years ago, GM let a rumor spread about Corvette becoming its own brand. And given the popularity of the mid-engined C8, that might be a good idea.

Transforming the Corvette into another car is not a new thing. GM’s many brands all wanted a slice of the iconic car, but basically, only Cadillac got to live the dream. Obviously, we’re talking about the XLR, an attempt at building a rival for the Mercedes SL-Class using the bones of the C6.

Where the Corvette packed a 6.0-liter LS2 V8 for that era, Cadillac opted for its own engine, the 4.6-liter “Northstar” V8. We all know how that went. However, let’s not ignore the popularity of the CTS-V and what was under its hood.

In the modern era, we probably don’t need any more mid-engined Corvette variants. I mean, even Cadillac has become a very SUV-centric brand. It’s easy to imagine a Corvette SUV because there have been lots of those. But today, we’ve got something new to show you, something that’s way more interesting.

A Corvette Pickup, Based on the Z06

There’s no denying that the pickup market is booming right now. And the impractical models with great styling and short beds are back. So the Silverado and F-150 aren’t dominating the market right now.

A Corvette truck feels very different, a bit like when the Lamborghini Urus burst onto the scene. You can pretend to hate it. But secretly, those exotic lines got your attention.

Unlike most of GM’s big V8 models, this would need to have unibody construction, the body rigidity of a car, just like the Hyundai Santa Cruz. It wouldn’t be built for off-road. Just like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo or the Lamborghini mentioned above, the utilitarian part would be less important than its performance.

Speaking of which, the lines of the Z06 are better than a standard C8 Corvette and they work beautifully with this rendering by silvercloudsam. However, the pickup couldn’t possibly be mid-engined in the real world, and the actual engine would be bad for the application.

More specifically, the 2023 Corvette Z06 is powered by a new 5.5-liter V8 that features a flat-plane crank and revs to 8,600 rpm. At 670 horsepower, it’s easily the most powerful production naturally-aspirated V8. However, large vehicles usually prefer torque. That’s why the Urus and all the other fast SUVs use twin-turbo engines.

So basically, we’re saying Chevy should make a brand new platform and fit it with another engine. Maybe that’s why the “Corvette T8 Z06” isn’t real.

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