Embargo is up... More official Z06 and C6-R info/pics

[Jason C]

(Original page can be found at https://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2006/, so I'll post the stuff that we haven't seen yet/are of greater interest)

Corvette C6-R Race Car Launches for 2005

C5-R Successor Built upon 50+ Years of History, Three Le Mans Titles, 35 Victories and Four Championships



DETROIT – The brand-new Corvette C6-R race car will debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 2005 after a full year of rigorous testing and development. The two-car, factory-backed Chevrolet sports car program will compete in the production-based GT1 class (formerly GTS) of American Le Mans Series as well as the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, a race where the Corvette has won its class for three out of the past four years. The new race car is the most technically advanced sports car ever developed by General Motors, culling years of experience from the dominant Corvette C5-R as well as the advancements brought forth from the next-generation Corvette C6 and Z06 production models.



“The Corvette C6-R is the best sports car we’ve ever built and it has been our privilege to develop it alongside the new Corvette Z06,” said Harry Turner , GM’s group manager for road racing. “History will remember the C5-R as one of the best sports racing cars of all-time and we’ve set the bar high for the C6-R. With the new C6 chassis and body structure as our starting point, we’re already ahead. We left no stone unturned in the development of this new car and we are looking forward to racing it in front of the world in 2005.”



Like the C5-R before it, the Corvette C6-R starts from production roots: the same hydroformed frame rails that roll down the assembly line at the Corvette plant in Bowling Green , Kentucky are sourced for the structure of the race car. With the new C6 production model measuring shorter in overall length (but with a longer wheelbase), race car engineers faced a new set of numbers in which to achieve their goals to make the car faster on the 180-mph Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans and other high-speed circuits.

“At first glance, the shortened front and rear overhangs on the C6 would seem to present a challenge in developing a racecar with maximum aerodynamic downforce,” said Steve Wesoloski , program engineering manager for Corvette Racing. “However, the low drag features on the C6, such as the sleek body and flush headlamps, lend themselves to an easy task of converting the production design into a low-drag race car.”

Adding a rear wing and a front splitter enabled the team to develop a package that achieves a lift-to-drag ratio better than that of the C5-R. Through a combination of Computational Fluid Dynamic studies and on-track testing, the end result will be an aerodynamically balanced package, tunable to the low drag demands of Le Mans or the high downforce requirements of Mosport.



The phrase “technology transfer” has never been more appropriate than when used to describe the matched set of Corvette C6-R and Corvette Z06. Lessons learned on the track have benefited the Z06, just as GM’s vast resources have enriched the C6-R race car. Both cars are powered by 7-liter small-block V-8 engines with dry-sump lubrication systems, CNC-ported cylinder heads, titanium valves and connecting rods, forged steel crankshafts, and plate-honed cylinder bores. While the components and specifications of the street and competition engines are tailored to their specific environments, the thought process behind them is identical.

The same six drivers that piloted the C5-Rs to an historical undefeated season in 2004 will return to the track in 2005: Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell and Max Papis will drive the #3 Corvette C6-R and Oliver Gavin , Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen will drive the #4 Corvette C6-R.

[Jason C]

LS7: The Largest, Most Powerful Small-Block Ever Built

DETROIT – From its inception 50 years ago, GM’s small-block V-8 has been a mainstay and favorite of the performance world. Nothing, however, in the production history of this respected eight-cylinder icon comes close to matching the performance of the all-new, 500-horsepower LS7 small-block.



•500 horsepower / 475 lb.-ft. torque
•Racing technology transfer takes production engine performance to new heights
•Racing-derived CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads
•Each engine assembled by hand by a single, specially-trained builder

GM Powertrain, using valuable data gleaned from the factory-sponsored Corvette C5R racing program, developed the LS7 with many competition-derived components and design features. It takes production small-block performance to an unprecedented level while demonstrating the continuing adaptability of the engine’s compact, cam-in-block design. It is, quite simply, the largest, most powerful production small-block V-8 GM has ever produced.

The LS7 displaces 7.0 liters – 427 cubic inches – and is standard equipment in the 2006 Corvette Z06. It is identified by red engine covers and is based on the new Gen IV small-block architecture.

Unlike the previous Corvette Z06 engine, the LS7 has a separate and distinct engine block casting and reciprocating assembly than the base Corvette engine. And when compared to the LS2, it has a different front cover, oil pan, exhaust manifolds and cylinder heads. The unique block accommodates large-displacement cylinders, while other components make use of racing-derived lightweight components to help boost horsepower and rpm capability.

The LS7’s specifications are significant for a production engine:

500 horsepower @ 6200 rpm
475 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4800 rpm
7000-rpm redline
Unique engine block with larger 104.8-mm (4.125-inch) bores and pressed-in cylinder liners
Forged steel crankshaft with 101.6-mm (4-inch) stroke
Titanium connecting rods
Cast aluminum flat-top pistons
Racing-derived CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads with titanium intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves
Dry-sump oiling system
11.0:1 compression ratio
Camshaft with 15-mm (.591-inch) lift
Hydroformed exhaust headers with unique “quad flow” collector flanges.
All LS7 engines are assembled by hand at GM’s new Performance Build Center in Wixom , Mich. The exacting standards to which they are built include deck-plate boring and honing of the cylinders and even crank line-boring of the block with the deck plates and side bolts installed – procedures normally associated with the building of racing engines and almost unheard of in a production-vehicle engine.

“In many ways, the LS7 is a racing engine in a street car,” said Dave Muscaro, assistant chief engineer of small-block V-8 for passenger cars. “We’ve taken much of what we’ve learned over the years from the 7.0-liter C5R racing program and instilled it here. There really has been nothing else like it offered in a GM production vehicle.”

Indeed, the LS7’s engineers spent as much time at racetracks as they did at engine dynamometers. Everything from the cylinder heads to the unique dry-sump oiling system has a direct line back to the racing program. But while the LS7 has racing roots, it delivers its performance with uncompromising smoothness and tractability – qualities that make the Corvette Z06 a daily-driveable supercar.

Cylinder Block & Reciprocating Assembly

The LS7’s competition-proven construction is exemplified in the cylinder block and reciprocating assembly, where an all-new aluminum block casting is used to provide room for its large, 104.8-mm-diameter (4.125-inch) cylinder bores. Inside the cylinders, aluminum flat-top pistons deliver an 11.0:1 compression ratio. They’re connected to a precision-balanced forged steel crankshaft with a 101.6-mm (4-inch) stroke via lightweight titanium connecting rods.

The titanium rods weigh just 480 grams apiece – almost 30 percent less than the rods in the LS2 V-8. Besides being lightweight, which enhances high-rpm performance and rpm range, titanium makes the rods extremely durable. And as with features like deck-plate honing, the use of premium titanium connecting rods typically is seen only in all-out racing engines.

Other details of the cylinder block assembly include pressed-in cylinder sleeves and forged steel main bearing caps. Pressed-in cylinder sleeves are used to allow the large 104.8-mm bore while the six-bolt, doweled-in-place CNC-machined forged steel main caps offer the superior strength required at the LS7’s power level. The smaller-displacement LS2 engine (101.6-mm bore x 92-mm stroke) has cast-in cylinder sleeves and powder metal main caps.



Dry Sump Oiling System

The LS7 has a dry-sump oiling system designed to keep the engine properly lubricated during the high cornering loads the Corvette Z06 is capable of producing. An engine compartment-mounted 8-quart reservoir delivers oil to the engine oil pump under the demanding conditions of cornering loads in excess of 1 g.

Oil circulates through the engine and down to the oil pan, where it is sent back to the reservoir via a scavenge pump. The large-capacity reservoir, combined with a high-efficiency air-to-oil cooler, provides necessary engine oil cooling under the demands of the engine’s power output. With the dry-sump system, oil is added to the engine via the reservoir tank – which includes the oil level dipstick.

The LS7’s dry-sump system was developed and tested on racetracks in the United States and Europe , including Germany ’s famed Nürburgring. And while common in racing cars, the Corvette Z06 is one of just a handful of production vehicles – and the only production Corvette – to ever incorporate such a high-performance oiling system.

Cylinder Heads

The LS7’s CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads are all-new and designed to meet the high airflow demands of the engine’s 7.0-liter displacement. Airflow has increased 25 percent compared to the base Corvette’s 6.0-liter LS2 V-8.

To ensure optimal, uninterrupted airflow, the LS7 has straight, tunnel-like intake runners. Very large by production-vehicle standards, the ports are designed to maintain fast airflow velocity, providing excellent torque at low rpm and exhilarating horsepower at high rpm. Their design is yet another legacy of the Corvette C5R racing program.

The heads feature 70-cc combustion chambers that are fed by huge, 56-mm-diameter titanium intake valves. The lightweight titanium valves each weigh 21 grams less than the stainless steel valves used in the LS2, despite the valve head having 22 percent more area. They are complemented by 41-mm sodium-filled exhaust valves (vs. 39.4-mm valves in the LS2). To accommodate the large valve face diameters, the heads’ valve seats are siamesed; and, taken from experience with the engines of C5R racecars, the LS7’s valve angles are held at 12 degrees – vs. 15 degrees for the LS2 – to enhance airflow through the ports.

“The heads are simply works of mechanical art,” said Muscaro. “We left nothing on the table when it came to ensuring the best airflow through the engine.”

Complete CNC porting of each cylinder head is performed on state-of-the-art five-axis milling machines, which carve out the intake ports, exhaust ports and combustion chambers with mathematical precision. In comparison, the LS2 features cast aluminum heads that require minimal finishing operations.



Camshaft, Exhaust & Other Features

A unique hydraulic roller camshaft actuates the large valves, giving them the time needed to bring in the air/fuel mixture and clear out the exhaust from the LS7’s large air passages. Based on C5R racing experience, the LS7’s cam has an all-new profile that provides .591-inch lift (15 mm) on both the intake and exhaust valves – almost .066 inch more than the LS2’s already stout .525-inch lift specs.

To accommodate the extremely high valve lift and the large ports, 1.8:1 roller rocker arms – offset on the intake side – and raised valve spring seats are used. In contrast, the LS2 has 1.7:1 conventional roller rockers.

Like other Gen IV V-8 engines, the LS7 uses a composite, three-piece friction-welded intake manifold, although its passages are tuned to support the engine’s considerable airflow requirements. The manifold is fronted by a 90-mm-diameter single-bore, electronically controlled throttle body. Higher-capacity, five gram/sec fuel injectors also are mounted in the manifold assembly. Like the LS2, the LS7 has a returnless fuel system that enhances both power and emissions performance.

On the exhaust side, racing-style hydroformed steel tubular exhaust headers are used. The individual header tubes meet at a special quad-outlet collector flange at the very tip of the header outlet where they smoothly enter into a “wide-mouth” catalytic converter. This system design approach greatly contributes to the Z06’s backpressure. The four rectangular sections of the flange smooth the exhaust flow out of the engine.

Hydroformed exhaust headers are unique to the LS7 and are a specialty even among racing engines.

Built By Hand

Assembly of every LS7 engine is performed by hand by a dedicated team member at GM’s new Performance Build Center . The engines are pushed through approximately 15 sub-assembly stations, where only the components and tools necessary to complete the station’s task are on hand. Tools such as electric torque wrenches provide repeatable accuracy for the engine’s precise tolerances, while the eyes of the specially trained team members provide intangible attention to detail.

Team members are engine-build specialists selected from GM’s experimental engine lab, and they complete about 30 LS7 engines per day. Upon completion, each engine is balanced and subjected to a 20-minute heat test. It is then transported to the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green , Ky. , to be married with a new Corvette Z06.



LS7 at a Glance

Engine type cam-in-block 90-degree V-8

Block configuration cast aluminum with pressed-in cylinder sleeves and 6-bolt, forged steel main bearing caps

Bore x Stroke (mm / in) 104.8 x 101.6 /4.125 x 4.00

Displacement (L / cu in) 7.0 / 427

Crankshaft forged steel

Connecting rods forged titanium

Pistons cast aluminum

Compression ratio 11.0:1

Cylinder heads CNC-ported aluminum; 70-cc chamber volume

Valve size, intake (mm / in) 56 / 2.20 (titanium)

Valve size, exhaust (mm / in) 41 / 1.61 (sodium-filled)

Camshaft hydraulic roller; 15 mm (.591 in) lift (intake and exhaust)

Rocker arms 1.8:1; offset (intake only)

Air intake composite manifold with 90 mm single-bore throttle body

Fuel Premium required. 91 octane minimum

Horsepower 500 (373 kW) @ 6200 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) 475 (644 Nm) @ 4800 rpm

Engine redline (rpm) 7000

[Jason C]

Technology Transfer Infuses Corvette Z06 and C6-R with the Racing Spirit

DETROIT – A great car is more than the sum of its specifications. Hardware is important, of course; stunning design and state-of-the-art components give the 2006 Corvette Z06 and the Corvette C6-R race car immense capabilities. But the “software” is also crucial – the people, the processes and the philosophy that are evident in the soul of these remarkable machines.

“Bring the Racing Spirit to Work.” That simple mantra on the letterhead used by Dave Hill, Performance Cars vehicle line executive and Corvette chief engineer, speaks volumes about the genesis of these sixth-generation Corvette supercars. While created for distinctly different environments, the Z06 and C6-R are the products of a two-way exchange of technology, personnel and experience between the realms of production and racing. These brothers-in-arms are infused with the racing spirit.

“Corvette shows that GM has the knowledge, the know-how, the passion, the craftsmanship and the spirit to be the best,” said Hill. “Corvette competes with entries from all over the world, from the best manufacturers, and racing puts the exclamation point on that.”

Technology transfer is a two-way street. Lessons learned on the track have benefited the Z06, just as GM’s vast resources have enriched the C6-R race car. Moreover, the rules and regulations of the American Le Mans Series require that the production-based C6-R retain strong links with its production counterpart.

“There can be no doubt that the people who created these cars have learned from each other,” Hill noted. “Which way did the technology flow – from the race car into production, or from production to the race? It went both directions. The race car looks like the production car, and our customers know that the car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans is based on the cars in their driveways.”

Examples of the synergy between Z06 and C6-R abound:

Powertrain

Both are powered by 7-liter small-block V-8 engines with dry-sump lubrication systems, CNC-ported cylinder heads, titanium valves and connecting rods, forged steel crankshafts, and plate-honed cylinder bores. While the components and specifications of the street and competition engines are tailored to their specific environments, the thought process behind them is identical.

“The racing experience enabled us to visualize how we could get more power out of the production engine,” said Dave Muscaro, GM Powertrain assistant chief engineer for small-block engines. “How much you get depends on where the bar is set, and racing helped us set realistic goals. A street engine has the constraints of emissions, noise and durability standards, but the race engine really challenged us to produce maximum power from a given package.

“When we started to look at upgrading the LS6, the first thing we did was sit down with the race group and talk about what they had done to build a 7-liter small-block. What did they do to the block to make the cylinder bores bigger, what did they do to the heads to increase the airflow? That was the key to creating the LS7.”

Aerodynamics

The C6 Corvette’s supple form is more than just a pretty face. The body design was sculpted in the wind tunnel to perform as well on the highway as it does on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans.

“Aerodynamic lessons learned in the race car were applied to the C6 Corvette to improve its performance under real-world conditions,” Hill explained. “The flush headlamps are an example – this lightweight, aerodynamic system gives fantastic performance. The C6 has a central air intake because it provides more airflow with less aerodynamic lift than the bottom breather we used previously. The C6-R needs to breathe a lot of air without pressure buildup under the front end. That’s what we did on the C6, and for the same reasons.”

The Z06 adds even more racing-inspired aerodynamic technology to the Corvette body design, including a downforce-producing splitter on the front fascia, a wicker bill on the rear deck, and lips on the leading edges of the wheel openings with rounded edges at the rear to reduce drag.

The C6 stands out as the fastest Corvette ever produced. The Corvette coupe can achieve 300 kph (186 mph) – a threshold that distinguishes supercars from the rest of the pack. The Z06 has even higher potential.

“The C6 has better aero numbers than the C5, and a lot of that is due to the testing we did at 200 mph with the race cars,” said Doug Fehan, program manager for Corvette Racing. “Production cars are seldom tested at that speed so there isn’t an extensive library of data. But if you’re going to build America ’s sports car, a car that can be a global leader in the sports car business, you need to know what happens at high speeds. That’s what racing did for the C6.”

Interior

Ergonomics is another area that expresses Corvette’s racing heritage.

“The emphasis we place on driver control in the street car helps Corvette be a good race car,” Hill explained. “We think about racing when we make decisions on the car – what would the race car want to have? The result is a better car for our customer, a more vibrant car that can be driven with confidence. Hop in and you feel like Ron Fellows because the car is so good. We take that racing attitude and apply it to the production design, and that makes the street car better.”

Personnel

One of the goals of GM’s racing programs is to accelerate the career development of GM personnel. The race track is a classroom that rewards fast thinking.

“We use the technology exchange to make the car better, and we use the personnel exchange to make the people better,” said Hill. “I often cite racing as an example of teamwork, about doing whatever it takes to solve a problem, to fix a design, to take care of something that broke in a durability test. I always remind people to bring the racing spirit to every task.”

Many team members switch from racing to production and vice versa, strengthening their skills and bringing experience and insight to each program. Corvette engineers played a key role in the C5-R program, including the design of the racecar’s aluminum engine cradle and suspension system. In one such example, a Corvette racing engineer transferred to the production group and his racing-inspired expertise in composite materials enabled a limited production run of composite carbon fiber hoods for the Commemorative Edition Corvette. That program provided the real-world experience that validated the decision to produce lightweight carbon fiber front fenders, wheelhouses and floor panels for the 2006 Z06.

Corvette engineer Steve Wesoloski has now joined the Corvette Racing team and also is experiencing firsthand the rewards of racing.

“Coming into this environment and being put in the position of lead chassis engineer, I had to get up to speed quickly on aerodynamics, chassis setup, and tires,” he said. “That accelerated learning process is something I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. How do we manage the people, how do we manage the process, how do we develop the parts? This experience will make me more effective when I return to the production world.”

Chassis

The underlying structures of the production car and the race car are very similar, according to Wesoloski.

“We started with the production framerails and the concept of the center tunnel as the backbone of the car, and then designed a roll cage on that structure,” he said. “We evolved that idea from the production car with a cored composite floor that spans the full width of the race car. The process that was used in production carried over to how we analyzed the race car.”

Safety

Safety is the No. 1 priority at GM Racing. Since the inception of the GM Racing Safety research and development program in June 1992, the program has expanded from its initial focus on Indy cars to encompass stock car racing, sports car racing, drag racing and off-road racing. The racing safety program is built on the foundation of GM’s world-class safety research and testing programs for passenger vehicles.

“Safety is always of paramount importance,” said Fehan. “Shortly after we built the first C5-R race car, we went to GM’s Milford Proving Grounds and did a barrier crash test to full Federal standards – we ran a brand-new race car into a solid wall at 29 mph. The car came through remarkably well. The ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the Le Mans sanctioning body) designated the Milford Proving Grounds as an approved test facility, and we raced that same car for two full years.

“That test dramatically demonstrated how we were able to take the engineering capabilities that GM has in production car safety and apply them to improve the safety of the race car.”

A similar process of cross-pollination between racing and production is taking place in the C6-R program. GM Racing engineer Tom Gideon, who heads the racing safety project, developed energy-absorbing honeycomb aluminum attenuators to protect the driver during a side impact. Crash test data from the production C6 is also being used to improve driver safety in the racing version.

“A passenger car and a race car operate in very different environments, with very different safety requirements,” said Gideon. “The goal for the C6-R is to bring it to the same level of safety as the production car. We have already demonstrated the crashworthiness of the race car’s front structure in a barrier test. Now Corvette engineers are providing data and video of Corvette crash tests so that we can determine the crash loads that are involved in a rear impact. There will be further dialogue with the sanctioning body about installing a lightweight structure in the race car that looks like the production car and offers the same level of protection in a racing environment.”

Summary

Technology transfer can be difficult to see, but in the case of the Z06 and C6-R, it is readily apparent.

“When you see the Z06 and the C6-R side by side, you see the culmination of all the work we’ve done,” said Fehan. “It will be abundantly clear that racing has had a profound effect on production, and the engineering moves both ways. The racing program has delivered technology to the production car that customers are going to be clamoring to get. It’s there, and it’s real.”



(Side note: GM's PR wankers used the term "synergy" again in this release, a catchphrase hopelessly overused by the time it was making the rounds two years ago at NAIAS. :roll: )

[Jason C]

Here are pics of the C6-R:

[Jason C]

And a few last gratuitous Z06 pics:

[FC]

Awesome. Simply awesome.

[Autarch]

Only 74 hp/l?

Trash. I bet it couldn't get out of it's own way.

That's a sexeh little engine bay on that C6-R. Incidentally I like the front end with the litle vertical slits in it more on the C6-R as weel.

[dan]

it goes to 62 in first gear

[lemming]

...and i think the top end for the street z06 is 300km/hr for the euro's.

[SCA]

Not an FYI, but the C6 Z06 is bad ass!