The 2011 Chevy Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition blasted onto the scene with a beefy V8 engine and a ton of parts from the hotter ZR1. The Z06 CE never received the ZR1's supercharger, but it did receive suspension upgrades, carbon-fiber bits, and other goodies, making it a formidable performance car and the perfect vehicle to take to the latest Texas Mile event. The coupe hit an astounding 242.7 miles per hour (390.6 kilometers per hour).
It's unclear what modifications were made to the Corvette, but things we can see look impressive. The Z06 wears some extra aerodynamic bits at the back, with struts fused to the rear bumper holding it all up. The coupe also sports a parachute, which hints at the car's performance prowess and something it needs when it's decelerating from nearly 250 mph. Chevy originally introduced the Z06 Carbon Edition with carbon-ceramic brakes, though it's doubtful this car is still wearing those units.
Gallery: 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
The Z06 Carbon Edition launched with a naturally aspirated 7.0-liter LS7 V8 pumping out 505 horsepower (376 kilowatts) and 470 pound-feet (637 Newton-meters) of torque, filling the gap between the regular Z06 and the hotter ZR1 available at the time. The engine could propel the coupe to 60 mph (96 kph) in under four seconds onto a top speed of 198 mph 318 kph). The modded Z06 trumps that by a wide margin.
The modified Z06 rockets past that to 242.7 mph, crossing the quarter-mile mark at an astounding 140.3 mph (225.7 kph). That's about 20 mph more than the stock Corvette's quarter-mile time. It was at 184.4 mph (295.7 at the half-mile marker before crossing the one-mile finish line at nearly 245 mph.
Cars have a lot more power and speed than we're legally allowed to use on public roads. It's an odd dichotomy, with some cars capable of breaking the speed limit several times over just rolling off the factory floor for anyone to drive. However, finding the space to use all that power is the challenge, and standing-mile events like the Texas Mile allow owners to put their cars and their engineering skills on full display. Modern supercars are routinely hitting absurd speeds, but the modding community is keeping old icons like the Z06 CE level with the modern masters.
