The Corvette Z06 is a dual-purpose sports car equally adept at daily driving or weekend excursions on the track.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoIts racing-inspired powertrain and suspension features, along with an aluminum frame and carbon fiber fenders and floor panels, contribute to a curb weight of only 3,199 pounds (1,451 kg), making it the lightest, best-balanced Corvette model and one of the most svelte supercars on the market.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoZ06 capability is enhanced for 2012, with upgrades and new features for the available Z07 performance package, highlighted by new Michelin® Pilot® Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires. When combined with new-for-2012 Performance Traction Management (PTM) technology – which manages torque delivery for maximum performance – the tires are expected to help set new benchmarks for Corvette performance. Engineers estimate an 8-percent gain in maximum lateral acceleration, to more than 1.1g, and improved braking distance.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoThe enhanced Z07 package’s effectiveness was demonstrated with a new lap time of 7:22.7 around Germany’s legendary Nürburgring, making it one of the fastest production cars to circle the famous track.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoCorvette Z06 also celebrates Chevrolet’s performance heritage with the 2012 Chevrolet Centennial Edition Corvette, which features a sleek black color scheme, unique design elements and Corvette’s sports car technology. The special package is inspired by Chevrolet’s racing-bred foundation and is offered on all Corvette models for 2012.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoCorvette Z06 for 2012 includes interior improvements shared with all Corvette models, including new seats, a new steering wheel design and a new Bose Premium audio system.
Customers who opt for the Corvette Engine Build Experience (option code PBC) can participate in the assembly of their engine at the General Motors Performance Build Center in Wixom, Mich.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoCorvette Z06 design
Fixed-roof body style optimizes body rigidity and mass; offered in three trim levels – 1LZ, 2LZ and 3LZ.
Wide front fascia with a large, forward-facing grille opening, a splitter along the bottom and wheel opening extensions along the sides to provide aerodynamic downforce.
Cold-air scoop in front of the hood that integrates an air inlet system for the engine.
Wide carbon fiber front fenders and carbon fiber floor panels.
Available carbon fiber hood.
Available “CFZ” carbon fiber package, with carbon fiber roof, rocker extensions, front splitter and ZR1-style rear spoiler.
Wide rear fenders with flares cover the massive rear tires and a brake cooling scoop in front of the wheels visually balances the fender extractor.
Tall rear spoiler houses the CHMSL on the top of the rear fascia.
Ten-spoke spider-design wheels (18-inch front; 19-inch rear).
Four large stainless steel exhaust outlets.
Z06 badging on the carbon-fiber front fenders.
Standard high-intensity discharge headlamps.
Two new exterior colors for 2012: Carlisle Blue Metallic and Carbon Flash Metallic (Chevrolet Centennial edition only). Also offered are Arctic White, Blade Silver Metallic, Inferno Orange Metallic, Velocity Yellow Tintcoat, Torch Red , Supersonic Blue Metallic,Cyber Gray and Crystal Red Tintcoat
New customer-selectable brake caliper colors offered in yellow, silver and gray. Red calipers are standard.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoChevrolet Centennial Edition Special Edition
Offered exclusively in Carbon Flash Metallic with satin-black graphics.
Special badges that signify Chevrolet’s racing history, including a graphic logo featuring an image of Louis Chevrolet on the B-pillars, the wheel center caps and the center of the steering wheel.
The historic Corvette crossed flags badge contains a small adaptation, with “100” in place of the traditional fleur-de-lis symbol in black, only for the Centennial Edition.
Unique Centennial Satin Black wheels with red stripe, sized specifically to the respective Corvette models, including 19-inch/20-inch for Z06.
Magnetic Selective Ride Control is standard.
Ebony leather-wrapped instrument panel and doors complemented by red stitching, also on the steering wheel, seats, console and shifter.
The seats feature microfiber suede accents on seats, steering wheel, shifter and armrests, which were first used on the 2011 Z06 Carbon Limited Edition.
Seat headrests carry an embossed centennial logo.
Available on all Corvette models via order code ZLC.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photoCorvette Z06 interior
Corvette’s interior is inspired by the car’s dual-cockpit heritage.
New seats feature improved appearance and larger bolsters on the seat back and cushion areas to provide better driver support, especially in high-performance driving
Microfiber seat inserts are included with the leather-wrapped interior (3LZ).
New steering wheel with model-specific badges, streamlined switch trim and wrapped spokes.
An AM/FM/XM radio with CD player and audio input jack is standard.
New, optional Bose Premium audio system includes nine speakers (vs. seven in 2011), including new tweeters located in the instrument panel and improve Bose Nd next-generation bass performance.
Steering-wheel mounted audio controls are on all models.
SiriusXM Satellite Radio with a one-year subscription is included with the Bose audio system.
An onboard navigation system with voice recognition is included with 2LZ and 3LZ models. It is a DVD-based system that uses a 6.5-inch (165 mm) color touch-screen display.
Head-up display is available on 2LZ and 3LZ models and includes Track Mode with g-meter.
Gauge cluster displays the Z06 logo on a 7,000-rpm tachometer and includes a readout on the oil pressure instrument to reflect the higher standard pressure of the Z06’s dry-sump oiling system.
A custom leather-wrapped interior package is standard on the 3LZ trim, featuring a leather-wrapped upper and lower instrument panel, door pads and seats; choice of exclusive colors: Dark Titanium, Ebony or Cashmere, with unique color breakup; padded door panel armrests; “Corvette” embroidered on passenger-side dash pad and a unique center trim plate with a gunmetal pattern.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 photoCorvette Z06 performance
LS7 7.0L (427 cubic inches) engine rated at 505 horsepower (377 kW).
Forged steel crankshaft.
Racing-derived high-flow cylinder heads with lightweight titanium intake valves.
Titanium connecting rods.
Racing-style dry-sump oiling system that ensures adequate oil pressure during high-load cornering.
The LS7 is hand-assembled at GM’s Performance Build Center in Wixom, Mich., and incorporates special processes typically seen in racing engines to produce a highly refined and precise product.
Lightweight, four-into-one exhaust headers discharge into close-coupled catalytic converters.
Two-mode mufflers that feature a vacuum-actuated outlet valves, which control exhaust noise during low-load operation but open for maximum power.
Six-speed manual transmission – automatic not available – that is strengthened for the LS7’s torque and incorporates a pump that sends transmission fluid to the front radiator for cooling. Upon its return, the fluid removes additional heat from the differential lube before returning to the transmission.
A single-mass flywheel and lightweight, high-capacity clutch channel torque to the rear transaxle.
Limited-slip differential, with enlarged ring and pinion gears.
Stronger axle half-shafts with stronger universal joints transmit power to the rear wheels.
0-60 performance of 3.7 seconds in first gear, quarter-mile times of 11.7 seconds at 125 mph and a top speed of 198 mph.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 photoCorvette Z06 chassis and suspension
An aluminum body structure for optimum stiffness and light weight for the fixed-roof body style.
Perimeter rails are one-piece hydroformed aluminum members featuring cast suspension nodes, which replace many welded steel components on other Corvette models.
Advanced structural composites featuring carbon fiber are bonded to the aluminum structure. The wider front wheelhouses, for example, are carbon composites, and the passenger compartment floors combine carbon-fiber skins with an ultra-lightweight balsa wood core.
A magnesium cradle that serves as the attachment point for the engine and some front suspension components. It is lighter than aluminum, yet incredibly strong, and helps improve the front-to-rear weight distribution, as do carbon-fiber front fenders and wheelhouses.
Battery relocated from underhood to a position in the rear cargo area, behind one of the rear wheels.
Z06-specific wheels, tires and brakes, as well as rear spring and roll stabilizer.
Large 18 x 9.5-inch cast-spun aluminum wheels and 275/35ZR18 tires in the front, and 19 x 12-inch cast-spun aluminum wheels with 325/30ZR19 tires in the rear. Goodyear F1 Supercar Gen 2 tires are standard.
Four-wheel disc brake system, consisting of 14-inch (355 mm) vented and cross-drilled front rotors and 13.4-inch (340 mm) vented and cross-drilled rear rotors.
Red-painted six-piston front calipers that use six individual brake pads. Individual brake pads are used because they deliver more equalized wear compared to what would otherwise be a pair of very long single-piece pads.
Rear brakes use four-piston calipers with four individual brake pads.
A four-channel ABS system is standard, as is a very competent Active Handling system – complete with a Competitive Driving mode.
2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition photo -Z07 Performance Package content
New Michelin® Pilot® Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires, developed by the same Michelin engineers who develop tires for Corvette Racing in the American Le Mans Series. They are essentially street-legal versions of a racing tire.
The 285/30-19 (front) and 335/25-20 (rear) tires are matched with all-new aluminum Cup-style wheels in satin black or machined finishes. They are about five pounds lighter (2.2 kg) and stronger than the ZR1 20-spoke wheel offered in 2011.
A new, full-width racing style spoiler for improved aerodynamics.
Enhanced cooling.
Magnetic Selective Ride Control.
Brembo carbon ceramic brakes.
Corvette safety and crash-avoidance features
The Corvette is designed to help drivers avoid crashes, while protecting the occupants in the event a crash occurs.
Four standard air bags include side-impact air bags, which provide head protection for outboard passengers in the event of a side-impact or rollover crash.
Active Handling electronic stability control system helps reduce the risk of rollover crashes by keeping the vehicle in the driver’s intended path by applying throttle, braking or a combination of both.
Standard four-wheel-disc brake system
Pretensioners minimize forward movement during a collision, and are standard on the front safety belts. Load-limiting retractors cinch the belt more tightly.
Tire pressure monitoring system and run-flat tires are standard on all models.
Standard remote keyless access with push-button starting.
Strong body structure to absorb crash energy and provide a protective “safety cage” around occupants.
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