Test Drive: Corvette Z06 - Wow

Perhaps it's most accurate to think of the Z06 version of the Chevrolet Corvette not so much as a car, but as a motorcycle that's easy to balance.

An in-your-face Harley-Davidson rather than a sleek Asian bike.

Same type of outrageous appearance. Same nerve-jangling inputs from chassis, engine, exhaust. Same demonic acceleration. Same overall lack of subtlety.

Or perhaps envision the 2015 Z06 Corvette as a large, fat exclamation point punctuating your motoring life.

The Z06 package always has meant "power," and in the current version that's 650 horsepower and an equal amount of torque. Says so right on a plaque on the console, in case you forget.

That's in contrast to "only" 455 hp and 460 lbs.-ft. in the basic Corvette Stingray.

The high-performance Z06 setup — revered by Corvette buffs — was created by Corvette godfather Zora Arkus-Duntov as a competition package on the second-generation Corvette.

At launch in 1963 it was an $1,818 option, according to Corvette historian, expert and enthusiast Martyn Schorr — an amount that would be $14,028 now, per the government's inflation formula.

Today's tariff is steeper: Z06 starts $24,000 more than the base Stingray's price.

Schorr said the original Z06 configuration was so race-oriented that it was a miserable daily driver and soon was discontinued. The metallic brakes, for example, were intended to work well when heated by the effort of slowing from three-digit speeds, but that made them numb and hard to apply when cold, as in normal driving.

Z06 was revived in 2001 and continues today as a more usefully integrated set of features.

In fact, it satisfies a fantasy we bet a lot of auto enthusiasts have: It looks and feels like a race car slightly tamed for daily driving. That's an illusion. A real racer would be take much more than modest taming to make it pleasant on the street. But it's a fulfilling illusion.

Test Drive's 2015 Corvette Z06 was a convertible that started at $83,995 — jaw-dropping but cheap for the performance. And it had added a premium equipment package for $8,650, a $995 carbon-fiber interior package and a special color, Spectra Gray, for $595, ringing up at $94,235.

The Z06 model continues for 2016 and offers additional performance with the Z07 package.

Too confusing. We drove the '15, loved it and will limit our comments to that one — and frankly see no reason to want more.

The latest Z06 stands out visually with more angles and scoops and spoilers than a conventional Corvette (if that's not an oxymoron). Test Drive usually would gag on such. But not this time. Gorgeous. Ferocious-looking but still inviting.

Reasonable people often disagree on matters of taste, after all. Schorr, for example, used a rude term to describe how it looks to him in white, which is a common hue for the car.

The Z06 has enhanced versions of Corvette's typical snug-fitting seats and cockpit, but if you can abide dropping down into the low-slung car and then grunting and twisting to exit, you'll find the accommodations cosseting.

The machine has General Motors' exceptional connectivity suite. Your phone will be ready to rock before you even get to the part where you verify that it and the car have matching code numbers. And the big touch-screen control panel is so close in the cozy confines of a 'Vette that you needn't take your hands off the steering wheel in some cases.

The 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 and special exhaust tuning combine for a frightening howl when you nail the throttle. It's an addictive sound and you'll need almost super-human restraint to avoid frequent repeat visits to the zone, thus courting the kind of traffic-law violation that's a jail sentence, not a mere ticket.

Ours had a seven-speed manual, and we found it's still easy to kill the engine from a dead start in traffic, similar to the trickiness of a "normal" Corvette. But it got better over a few days, and Test Drive would willingly accept a stick-shift version, assuming the clutch could be well-learned without much more practice.

Once in second gear and higher, the Z06 could burble pleasantly in sluggish traffic, though with implied villainy. Choked-street city dwellers will prefer the automatic, probably.

Top-down driving was comfortable, GM having managed to tame the breezes that often threaten to yank everything from the interior that's not glued or nailed in place.

Potential drawbacks: Small trunk, limited interior nooks, poor fuel economy if you drive it as intended. We registered 12.7 mpg. The sticky-tread tires wouldn't work on snow, but perhaps you have an old Jeep or some-such for that.

The Corvette Z06 isn't a casual car. You'll get plenty of stares, second-glances and even unwanted attention from people in uniform. But the deep satisfaction it delivers — for those who like giddy-up machines — is stunning.

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 highlights :

•Acceleration: Ferocious.

•Styling: Fierce.

•Personality: Fabulous.

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 details:

•What? High-performance package for the latest-generation Corvette front-engine, rear-drive sports car.

•When? Added to the lineup for the 2015 model; continues on 2016 models.

•Why? The Z06 designation is respected among Corvette fans and can sell for a higher price and thus higher profits.

•Where? Made at Bowling Green, Ky.

•How much? $24,000 more than the basic Corvette. Z06 coupe starts at $79,995, including $995 shipping. Convertible starts at $83,995.

Nicely optioned Z06 convertible test car with manual transmission: $94,235.

•What makes it go? 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 rated 650 horsepower at 6,400 rpm, 650 pounds-feet of torque at 3,600. Available with seven-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

•How thirsty? Rated 15 miles per gallon in the city, 22 highway, 18 combined (manual), 13/21/16 (automatic).

Manual transmission test car registered 12.7 mpg (7.87 gallons per 100 miles) in vigorous suburban driving.

Requires premium gasoline. Tank holds 18.5 gal.

•Overall: Wow.