After a bright-yellow false start, here is the real thing: the fourth-generation, 2015 Corvette Z06. If Chevrolet makes a ZR1 version of the C7 Corvette, it's going to be absolutely mega, because the Z06 is just about everything we got in the last ZR1, but better.

The new Z06 engine is just an inch taller than the LT1 in the Corvette Stingray, and there are few more powerful inches in the world: the LT4 is a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 producing "at least" 625 horsepower and 635 pound-feet of torque. The integrated 1.7-liter Eaton supercharger and intercooler sit in the engine's vee, that blower spinning beyond the ZR1's supercharger limit of 15,000 up to 20,000 rpm and utilizing shorter rotors to get up to speed more quickly. To keep gas mileage in check, you'll still benefit from Chevy's Active Fuel Management, as well as direct injection and variable valve timing. It's also been fitted with a dry-sump oil system that has a larger capacity than on the Stingray's Z51 package.

The Z06 will shift through either a seven-speed manual or the all-new 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmission that we thought was going into the Corvette and not into the Z06. It's a conventional automatic with a torque converter overseeing four gearsets and five clutches, and it's lighter than the six-speed in the Stingray while fitting in the same space. Chevrolet says there's no performance sacrifice, declaring that "wide-open-throttle upshifts executed up to eight-hundredths of a second quicker than the dual-clutch in thePorsche 911." Naturally, it will come with paddle shifters. Those who prefer three pedals will find their seven-speed manual fitted with a new dual-mass flywheel and dual-disc clutch.

Manhandling all that power are three downforce packages, the first being a splitter, spats at the front wheel arches and the rear spoiler in the Stingray's Z51 Performance Package. The carbon fiber aero kit adds winglets in front, carbon fiber rocker panels and a larger rear wing with a wickerbill. The Z07 Package will top it all off and include more bits, but Chevrolet hasn't told us what those bits will be since "development testing is ongoing." It has told us, though, that you'll do faster lap times than in the 2014 ZR1.

The cockpit gets a color overhaul to emphasize the driver, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, the choice of GT and Competition Sport seats, and Napa leather, aluminum, carbon fiber and micro-suede as the suite of materials. For the first time, you'll be able to enjoy it with the roof off, too: the race-ready aluminum frame has made a removable roof panel possible. With the panel removed, the 2015 Z06 is 20-percent stiffer than the ZR1; with it on, it's 60-percent stiffer.

It will go on sale in early 2015, but you can read about it now in the press release below and stay tuned for our live photos from the Detroit Auto Show floor.

Via Autoblog

Car and Driver has a new story on the new Aston speedster concept and it's heritage with the DBR1. The car is stunning and should create a lot of interest regardless of weather or not it actually gets produced.

During Aston Martin’s 100 years of existence, it has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans just once, and that was way back in 1959 (with no less than Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori as co-drivers). If it’s shocking that a dedicated sports-car manufacturer with a rich motorsports background only took the checkered flag once at the famed Circuit de la Sarthe, then it likely is entirely un-shocking that the same automaker mined the winning DBR1 racer for inspiration to create a celebratory show car. The result is the CC100 Speedster concept, which by and large resembles the DBR1 race car as formed in the crucible of 60 years of evolution and modernization.

Distinguished History, Complete With a Bug Sandwich

The original DBR1 was a stripped-down, purpose-built race car with a low-profile windscreen, no roof, and a gorgeous shape. These basic attributes carry over to the CC100 Speedster, albeit with a host of modifications. Gone are the original car’s wire wheels, windscreen, and relatively plain body surfaces. And while the old car’s curves and stance are pure sex, they’re also not nearly as aggressive looking as the CC100’s creases, angles, and almost-brutal detailing. Taken overall, the CC100 is certainly eye-catching, although we wouldn’t go so far as to call it beautiful.

Read more via C&D

Does the mere desire to own a ridiculously high-performance and stupendously expensive supercar automatically make its prospective owner a little selfish? Not necessarily, but if said supercar has just one seat, a case could certainly be made that its megalomaniacal owner simply doesn't want to share the experience with his friends...

For such an owner, Lamborghini has presented the Egoista Concept – perhaps fittingly, the car was unveiled at a private 50th birthday party that the automaker seems to have thrown for itself. From what we can glean without any official announcement from Lamborghini to go by, the Egoista Concept has room for a single occupant, is powered by a 5.2-liter V10 engine and boasts styling said to be inspired by an Apache helicopter.

While we eagerly await more details from Lamborghini, we suggest you click on the image above to view the Egoista in high resolution. With just one angle to go by, we can't really offer much commentary on its design, other than to say it joins the Veneno as one of the more memorable self-given birthday presents in recent memory.

*UPDATE: Full image gallery and press release from Lamborghini added.

Read more via autoblog

From the same guys who brought us video of a street-legal Porsche 962C driving through the streets of Japan comes this latest video showing Le Mans-winning pro driver, Seiji Ara, lapping Fuji Speedway in aBugatti Veyron Grand Sport. Most of the video centers around Ara's impressions, but there is plenty of great video showing the supercar carving up the track's numerous turns and blasting along its lengthy front straightaway.

Ara says this is the most powerful car he's ever driven, so we imagine it was as much for fun for him to drive as it is for us to watch. During the drive, the camera provides a sense of what it's like to pilot the Veyron on such a challenging track, and you can hear its turbos and wastegates getting a workout. Scroll down to watch this well-shot, well-edited video of Ara and the Veyron lapping Fuji Speedway. Oh, and be sure to stick around for the end, as there's a bonus three-way drag race you won't want to miss.

Read more via Autoblog

Top dog. Man in front. The king. To some manufacturers, the title of "World's Fastest Production Car" is essential to their existence. It may even be worth more than bragging rights. It's marketing, advertising, and pedigree all in one. There are even disputes over who can claim the current title. It wasn’t always this way.

Nowadays manufacturers haul their cars in specially-constructed trailers to uber-secret test facilities like Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien to verify records under strict testing conditions, with only the finest in professional race drivers at the wheel. But back in the day, things were a bit different.

Magazines like Motor, and its rival Autocar, would drive a car out to a runway or a track and simply see how fast a car could go, with nought but a scraggly journalist behind the controls. Occasionally, they’d set a record.

Let’s take a look at some of those select record holders for “World’s Fastest Production Car” over the years:


Read more via Jalopnik