The Chevy Corvette has long been a prominent symbol for GM worldwide, as it has spanned 8 generations and wowed experts by being the first rear mid-engine production car in existence aside from the 1984 Fiero! Today it presides here at the Mid-Missouri Powerhouse and capable garages everywhere by the “C8” namesake, and the heat on tracks everywhere was cranked up a notch with the introduction of the C8. The Z06 is a salacious beast that commemorates over 70 years of the Corvette name and is also now officially the production vehicle with the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 engine on the planet.
There are a few very limited-edition models coming up that are all going to add just an extra boost of oomph on top of the already-glistening and high-octane status of the ‘Vette, and the Topspeed.com blogging team took a closeup look this past week at the twin 35-unit run. The Limited Racing Style Edition is available in two color options, with the first being the very unique Arctic White scheme available in the 2LT trim of the coupe and convertible, which only sees 5 units produced.
The Hypersonic gray color option is offered in the 3Lt trim of either the coupe or convertible, with each special edition model boasting two full-length racing stripes finished in either red or black. On each side you can make out the 20-spoke Gloss Black forged aluminum wheels, and very cool carbon accents on the rear spoiler and mirror. The Arctic white version gets red surrounds for the wheels, and both models flaunt body-colored roof panels to boot. The Hypersonic Gray option greets you with a dual-tone dark and light blue color scheme inside, with the Arctic White option ready to scorch asphalt with a dual-tone black and red theme.
The Hypersonic Gray model upgrades the bucket seats with a Nappa leather finish, leather-wrapped steering, and blue seat belts for the coupe and convertible. The Arctic White’s interior is equipped with GT2 bucket seats, and a suede finish for the steering wheel along with unique red seatbelts. The couple version is limited to 20 units finished in black, and 10 units in yellow, while both models have the same 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. On top of the carbon accents for the mirrors and spoiler, the convertible has the same features on the roof.
The ’Accelerated Yellow’ version comes to the starting line with the same jet-black color theme, GT2 bucked seats covered in Nappa leather and suede microfiber, and a suede steering wheel. The seatbelts are yellow instead of red, and there are a few other great features that define this more elegant style of Corvette: you’ll be enjoying each tight turn with a new 12.0-inch gauge cluster, 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless charging, a 14-speaker Bose audio system, and a head-up display.
While there are quite a few differences between the coupe and convertible versions, the powertrain itself remains resiliency the same. It’s still available with the Z51 Performance package as standard, which heats things up with a dual-mode exhaust, and the 6.2-Liter naturally aspirated LT2 small-block V8, which cranks out 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, paired with the smooth and always-on-point 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The Z51 package also includes the revised suspension consistently showing up with 110% stealth adaptive dampers, increased cooling, larger brakes, and electronically limited-slip differential.
With all these performance-focused upgrades, the Corvette Stingray can now accelerate from 0-60 mph in just under 3.0 seconds, rendering it one of the fastest sportscars defying checkered flags out there. Doing a fantastic job of rivaling competition such as the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS, Jaguar F-Type, and new Ford Mustang Dark Horse, these limited editions add a bit of unnecessary yet very becoming charm to a car that will endlessly “move mountains” and nip at foreign supercar brands’ heels for years to come.
