=Busted! J Leno Pulled Over Driving a 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 =
#1
01-07-2015, 02:24 PM
=Busted! J Leno Pulled Over Driving a 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 =
Busted! Jay Leno Pulled Over Driving a 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06
January 6, 2015 at 3:05 pm by Robert Sorokanich | Posted By Bum'Mike (MCF: ) Photography by YouTube/Jay Leno's Garage
Hollywood’s number-one gearhead and denim-apparel spokesman Jay Leno got the chance to drive a preproduction 2015 Corvette Z06 for his fantastic
. As you know, the newest Z06 is bonkers fast, a screaming 650-horsepower missile on wheels. Leno found that out, too, after his canyon blast caught the attention of a police officer on traffic patrol. These aren’t the bright lights we’re used to seeing shine on Leno.
Before they got to driving, Leno did his usual garage deep dive on the new Z06, with product specialist Shad Balch joining to explain the nuances of Chevy’s über-Vette. True, the example Leno got to drive is perhaps the softest Z06 in the lineup, a droptop with the optional eight-speed automatic gearbox.
But even the softest Z06 is still a vicious machine, with rocketlike acceleration and grip bordering on magnetic. This isn’t a car you take lightly, nor is it one whose capabilities can be fully exercised on public roads.If you watch to the very end of the 20-plus-minute video, you’ll see what happens if a cop witnesses you probing the deep reserves of the Z06’s power and grip.
The video ends before we get to see Leno perform to the toughest improv audience any gearhead can imagine: a police officer holding a ticket book, illuminated by red and blue flashing lights.
This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com.
January 6, 2015 at 3:05 pm by Robert Sorokanich | Posted By Bum'Mike (MCF: ) Photography by YouTube/Jay Leno's Garage
Hollywood’s number-one gearhead and denim-apparel spokesman Jay Leno got the chance to drive a preproduction 2015 Corvette Z06 for his fantastic
Before they got to driving, Leno did his usual garage deep dive on the new Z06, with product specialist Shad Balch joining to explain the nuances of Chevy’s über-Vette. True, the example Leno got to drive is perhaps the softest Z06 in the lineup, a droptop with the optional eight-speed automatic gearbox.
But even the softest Z06 is still a vicious machine, with rocketlike acceleration and grip bordering on magnetic. This isn’t a car you take lightly, nor is it one whose capabilities can be fully exercised on public roads.If you watch to the very end of the 20-plus-minute video, you’ll see what happens if a cop witnesses you probing the deep reserves of the Z06’s power and grip.
The video ends before we get to see Leno perform to the toughest improv audience any gearhead can imagine: a police officer holding a ticket book, illuminated by red and blue flashing lights.
This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com.
SPECIFICATIONS
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door targa
PRICE AS TESTED: $97,595 (base price: $78,995)
ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 376 cu in, 6162 cc
Power: 650 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 650 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Length: 176.9 in
Width: 77.1 in Height: 48.6 in
Curb weight: 3558 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.8 sec
Zero to 160 mph: 22.9 sec
Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 3.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 1.7 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 2.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 127 mph
Top speed (C/D est): 185 mph + +
Braking, 70-0 mph: 128 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.19 g
FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 13/24 mpg
TEST NOTES: Launch control keeps cold-tire wheelspin to a minimum, but once the rubber is warm, the rears have the stick to take an aggressive stab of the throttle without any electronic assistance. Oddly, the trans upshifts short of redline in automatic, but this is quicker than shifting manually at redline.
PRICE AS TESTED: $97,595 (base price: $78,995)
ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 376 cu in, 6162 cc
Power: 650 hp @ 6400 rpm
Torque: 650 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.7 in
Length: 176.9 in
Width: 77.1 in Height: 48.6 in
Curb weight: 3558 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.8 sec
Zero to 160 mph: 22.9 sec
Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 3.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 1.7 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 2.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.1 sec @ 127 mph
Top speed (C/D est): 185 mph + +
Braking, 70-0 mph: 128 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.19 g
FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway driving: 13/24 mpg
TEST NOTES: Launch control keeps cold-tire wheelspin to a minimum, but once the rubber is warm, the rears have the stick to take an aggressive stab of the throttle without any electronic assistance. Oddly, the trans upshifts short of redline in automatic, but this is quicker than shifting manually at redline.Last edited by BeachBumMike; 01-07-2015 at 02:30 PM.
#2
01-07-2015, 02:29 PM
2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Stingray? The new Z06 is a stun ray. <
A few years ago, during the darkest hours of the GM bankruptcy, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter found himself on a conference call with company execs and government overseers. A conversation on the bolts and screws of bailing out GM suddenly halted when one of the federales, a Corvette fan, wanted to know the plan for the C7. “At the time, there was no plan,” recalled Juechter as we stood trackside at Road Atlanta this past October. “We were at full stop.”
So much has happened since then. Flash-forward to 2014 and the scene of our own technical director, Don Sherman, banging on the door of Juechter’s home like some marauding zombie early one summer Saturday, intent on hand-delivering our October issue, which featured an exposé on the C8 Corvette. (Juechter neither confirms nor denies our story.) And to our later meeting at Road Atlanta, where the new Z06 sat freshly unwrapped and awaiting its ritual molestation by car writers. Whatever satisfaction an engineer derives from his or her ideas becoming realized, from seeing mere talk and drawings evolve into a finished product, must increase tenfold in the Corvette program, once an idle afterthought in the mayhem of a bankruptcy and now a full line of highly acclaimed vehicles.
So much has happened since then. Flash-forward to 2014 and the scene of our own technical director, Don Sherman, banging on the door of Juechter’s home like some marauding zombie early one summer Saturday, intent on hand-delivering our October issue, which featured an exposé on the C8 Corvette. (Juechter neither confirms nor denies our story.) And to our later meeting at Road Atlanta, where the new Z06 sat freshly unwrapped and awaiting its ritual molestation by car writers. Whatever satisfaction an engineer derives from his or her ideas becoming realized, from seeing mere talk and drawings evolve into a finished product, must increase tenfold in the Corvette program, once an idle afterthought in the mayhem of a bankruptcy and now a full line of highly acclaimed vehicles.
Nothing to see here. Just the shortest-stopping, most tenaciously gripping production car we've ever tested. Oh, it has a kind of powerful engine, too.
A line that includes a 650-hp thunder wagon with the sophistication and poise of the world’s best sports cars. There, we said it. The Z06 must be ranked among the world’s best. You know that we here at Car and Driver are not idle flatterers, our job being to find the faults for you in haste, before you have to live with them at leisure over 72 months of payments. However, the Z06 completely fulfills its mission to be a super Corvette. It is an accessible American fantasy intended to inject joy and fascination and, let’s face it, a healthy dose of awe into the driving experience, such that there’s not much left to shout about except details.
Details such as a 60-mph nuking of three seconds flat, set by a Z06 equipped with the Z07 Performance package and an automatic. This car tore the quarter-mile a new one at 11.1 seconds at 127 mph, scorched the skidpad with 1.19 g’s of grip, and stopped from 70 in an astonishing 128 feet, the latter two figures setting C/D records for a production car. We also tested a slightly less potent manual-trans Z06 [see bottom of page 2].
Details such as a 60-mph nuking of three seconds flat, set by a Z06 equipped with the Z07 Performance package and an automatic. This car tore the quarter-mile a new one at 11.1 seconds at 127 mph, scorched the skidpad with 1.19 g’s of grip, and stopped from 70 in an astonishing 128 feet, the latter two figures setting C/D records for a production car. We also tested a slightly less potent manual-trans Z06 [see bottom of page 2].
Please pause here for an important message about tires. If you’ve followed our preview coverage, you already know that there are now a lot of Z06s to choose from. There are coupe and convertible body styles. There are two transmissions, a seven-speed manual with automatic rev matching and an eight-speed automatic. And there are three trim levels, dozens of options, and three separate aero packages. Then there’s the mega Z07 Performance package that further weaponizes the car with carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon-fiber aero package, a slightly revised suspension tune, and different tires. The Z07’s run-flat Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer almost-slicks replace the base run-flat Michelin Pilot Super Sports and are, to borrow from Mark Twain, the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.
Back to the test numbers: Um, holy crap. Riding a Z06 through the first four gears feels like putting a saddle on Superman, though the Z06 is 200 pounds heavier than the old ZR1. Obviously, there’s a squidge more power, but this is down to the race tires and the fact that today’s automatics are often faster than manuals in a straight line. We didn’t even use launch control, a simple flat-foot drop in full auto mode being all that was needed to produce these fireworks from the test equipment.
Back to the test numbers: Um, holy crap. Riding a Z06 through the first four gears feels like putting a saddle on Superman, though the Z06 is 200 pounds heavier than the old ZR1. Obviously, there’s a squidge more power, but this is down to the race tires and the fact that today’s automatics are often faster than manuals in a straight line. We didn’t even use launch control, a simple flat-foot drop in full auto mode being all that was needed to produce these fireworks from the test equipment.
The Z06 we photographed was fully loaded with the Z07 package, Stage 3 carbon aero trim kit, and optional carbon-kablooey interior. As you can see, there’s a Z06 for, well, if not exactly everyone, then a wider swath of humanity’s more impatient drivers, all of whom will be swamped by admirers at parties. Prepare for the eager smiles of your audience to droop slightly when you say you bought the automatic, as up to 70 percent of Z06 buyers are expected to do. This is a natural, instinctual disappointment, conditioned by the expectation that real sports cars have sticks, mounting evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.
We drove both the manual and the automatic Z06 and feel that the stick, with its notably soft and seamless clutch takeup, is still the best choice. Rev matching sounds like a hateful automation of the heel-and-toe skill until you get used to it. Then you wonder why all manuals don’t have it. Or just turn it off. Or use it to learn proper rev matching and then turn it off. Continued...
PHOTOS (32)
We drove both the manual and the automatic Z06 and feel that the stick, with its notably soft and seamless clutch takeup, is still the best choice. Rev matching sounds like a hateful automation of the heel-and-toe skill until you get used to it. Then you wonder why all manuals don’t have it. Or just turn it off. Or use it to learn proper rev matching and then turn it off. Continued...
Last edited by BeachBumMike; 01-07-2015 at 02:31 PM.
#4
01-08-2015, 12:33 AM
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Utah
Posts: 4,903
Like he really even cares. His pockets are so deep, and he has the very best of insurance companies as you can bet. He at least had some fun...
#6
01-08-2015, 10:59 AM
Hi 'Greg & 'Zach,
*Greg, Jay Leno most likely has his own insurance company & a few banks that he owns
I think he has a great life & is like already in a Automotive type heaven on 'earth
(I've never watched him on TV or watched TV talk shows like that) He must have made super good money talking (lol) >(Space would be good @ that > LOL)I do like the New Sting Rays & it's one of Space's dreams.
Our boss is suppose to be ordering one, but wants to test drive one 1st. (I just want to test drive one)
That Hell'Cat is a BAD Powerful ride (WOW)
If I had one I'd be in jail or dead...
4>$ure
#10
01-08-2015, 05:54 PM
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 5,611
That Camaro is wicked! But the video disturbed me a bit. It would have been nice to see the car give 'er nutz on a track. I know he was showing restraint, but I didn't like seeing where he was driving it. That looked like a reasonably busy residential neighborhood. And it's an untested car that he's burning the tires off of. Seems like a tragedy waiting to happen. It only takes a split second to go really wrong forever. Besides, we never got to see much of what that car can do anyways