page_title: Chevrolet Corvette
section_title: Sixth generation (C6; 2005–2013)
hierarchical_section_title: Chevrolet Corvette / History / Sixth generation (C6; 2005–2013)
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Salon de Francfort 2011
context_page_description: The Chevrolet Corvette, colloquially known as the "Vette", is a two-door, two-passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet across more than 60 years of production and eight design generations. From 1953 to 2019, it was front-engined, and since 2020, it is mid-engined. With its generations noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette serves as Chevrolet's halo vehicle and is widely noted for its performance and distinctive plastic—either fiberglass or composite—bodywork.
  In 1953, when GM executives were looking to name the new Chevrolet sports car, assistant director for the Public Relations department Myron Scott suggested Corvette after the small maneuverable warship—and the name was approved. The first model, a convertible, was introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept and was followed ten years later by the 1963 second generation, in coupe and convertible styles. Originally manufactured in Flint, Michigan, as well as St. Louis, Missouri, the Corvette has been manufactured since 1981 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
  The Corvette has since become widely known as "America's Sports Car."
context_section_description: For the C6 Corvette GM wanted to focus more upon refining the C5 than trying to redesign it. Car & Driver, and Motor Trend, described the C6 as an "evolution of the C5, instead of a complete redo".  The C6 wheel base was increased while body overhangs were decreased when compared to the C5.  Retractable headlights were replaced with fixed units.  The C6 brought a new and improved interior compared to the C5. As a result of the upgraded interior, the C6 had a slight increase in passenger hip room.  It also sported an updated LS1/LS6 engine now called the LS2.  This engine was primarily an LS1/LS6 with a bump in displacement from 5.7L to 6.0 liters. The increased displacement of the 6.0 bumped the LS2's horsepower up by 50 BHP over its LS1 progenitor, although still 5 BHP less than the upgraded LS6 engine found in the previous C5 Z06.  Thus the LS2 was now at 364 cu in, and it produced 400 bhp (300 kW) at 6000 rpm and 400 lb⋅ft (540 N⋅m) at 4400 rpm, giving the vehicle a 0–60 mph time of under 4.2 seconds. Its top speed was 190 mph (310 km/h).
  The C6 generation did not match the previous generation's relatively good fuel economy, despite its relatively low 0.28 drag coefficient and low curb weight, achieving 16/26 mpg (city/highway) equipped with automatic or manual transmissions; like all manual transmission Corvettes since 1989, it is fitted with Computer Aided Gear Selection (CAGS) to improve fuel economy by requiring drivers to shift from 1st gear directly to 4th in low-speed/low-throttle conditions. This feature helps the C6 avoid the Gas Guzzler Tax by achieving better fuel economy.
  The new Z06 arrived as a 2006 model in the third quarter of 2005. It has a 7.0 L version of the small block engine codenamed LS7. At 427.6 cubic inches, the Z06 was the largest small block ever offered from General Motors. Because of the Corvette's former use of 427 cubic-inch big blocks in the late-1960s and early 1970s, the LS7's size was rounded down to 427 cubic inches. Official output was 505 bhp (377 kW) and has a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) time of 3.7 seconds. Top speed is 198 mph (319 km/h). Another first for a Corvette, the Z06 featured a full aluminum chasis. The frame mirrored the C5/6 architecture but substituting aluminum hydroformed rails and aluminum extrustions and castings fore and aft. This dropped weight from 419 to 287 pounds while improving chassis stiffness.
  For 2008, the Corvette received a mild freshening: a new LS3 engine with displacement increased to 6.2 L (380 cu in), resulting in 430 bhp (321 kW) and 424 lb⋅ft (575 N⋅m) (436 bhp (325 kW) and 428 lb⋅ft (580 N⋅m) if ordered with the optional performance exhaust). The 6-speed manual transmission also has improved shift linkage and a 0–60 time of 4.0 seconds, while the automatic is set up for quicker shifts giving the C6 automatic a 0–60 time of 4.0 seconds, quicker than any other production automatic Corvette. The interior was slightly updated and a new 4LT leather-wrap interior package was added. The wheels were also updated to a new five-spoke design.
  The ZR1 was formally announced in a December 2007 press statement by General Motors, where it was revealed that their target of 100 bhp (75 kW) per 1 L (61 cu in) had been reached by a new "LS9" engine with an Eaton-supercharged 6.2-liter engine producing 638 bhp (476 kW) and 604 lb⋅ft (819 N⋅m). The LS9 engine was the most powerful to be put into a GM production sports car. Its top speed was 205 mph (330 km/h).
  The historical name Grand Sport returned to the Corvette lineup in 2010 as an entirely new model series that replaced the Z51 option. The new model was basically an LS3 equipped Z06 with a steel frame instead of aluminum. It retained many of the features of the Z06 including a wide body with 18x9.5 and 19x12 inch wheels, dry sump oiling (manual transmission coupes only), 6-piston 14" front brakes and 4-piston rear, and improved suspension. Manual power train equipped G/S coupe models receive a tweaked LS3 with a forged crank, are built in Z06 fashion by hand, and utilize a dry-sump oil system. The first three gear
caption: Corvette ZR1
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