As if 505hp isn’t enough for the wildly successful new Z06 Corvette, a GM official has confirmed the Blue Devil or SS Corvette could be a reality… with 600hp!Tom Wallace told journalists that GM is working on the car, and spy photos show the proposed car on the famed Nurburgring test track in Germany with Michigan license plates.
Wallace did say that one facet engineers are focusing on is how to make the horsepower usable. It also is unclear if the new LS9 engine will be naturally aspirated or supercharged, as has been the talk on automotive Web sites.
The current Z06 has 505hp and can reach speeds of 198 mph. The Z06 has a base price of $65,800, and yes, that is a great deal of money, but is cheap for this kind of performance.
The Blue Devil may be the first six-figure car in GM history. Another area engineers are working on is weight and, through more extensive use of carbon fiber body panels, their goal is to make the car lighter than 3,000 pounds.
The 2006 Z06 weighs 3,132 pounds and can cover the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds at 125 mph.
Stay tuned.
(This post originally appeared in the May 18, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.)