CORVETTE CLUBSPORT BY KATECH

A Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Dialed In and Lightened Up
By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com

Detroit Grand Prix August 28, 2008; It’s not often that I write about a car without having the chance to drive it. After all, the driving experience is what cars – especially sports and performance cars – are all about. I’ll make an exception this time to tell you about a car I encountered last evening at a shop in the northern suburbs of Detroit. The occasion was the annual Detroit Grand Prix party at Katech Engineering, and the car is the first completed version of Katech’s newest Corvette Z06 aftermarket package called ClubSport.

Katech, as many of you know, builds racing engines for a variety of GM race cars, most notably for the Corvette Racing teams competing in the American LeMans Series where they have won six championships in a row. Katech also developed the far-out XV16 engine in the Cadillac Sixteen concept car featured at the North American International Auto Show, and they make a variety of crate engines for the aftermarket. The development of the V16 is a great story as well, but will have to wait for another time.

For less than 40-grand you can take your average, run-of-the-mill Corvette Z06, dial in some extra horsepower, reduce the overall weight considerably and make it ready for the track. If you decide you just want to drive it on the street, then go ahead. Just watch out.

How do they do all that? Well, here’s how:

Brakes are enhanced and lightened with monobloc six-piston front, and four piston rear, Brembo ® Gran Turismo brakes with two-piece, cross-drilled rotors. The rotors are 14-inches in the front and 13.6 in the rear.

To get the power to the pavement better the rear suspension is changed to include double-adjustable coil-over shocks with seven individually adjustable reboud and compression settings. That system is specifically tuned by Motion engineers and SCCA World Challenge professional driver Andy Pilgrim.

No-nonsense in design but good looking in gray powder coat the 15-spoke wheels are forged of aluminum and measure 18x9.5 inches in the front and 19x12 inches in the rear. The wheels are a Katech product.

Mounted to these light-weight wheels are super-grippy Michelin Pilot® Sport Cup tires in 285/30R18 front and 325/30R19 rear. Not only do those tires reduce overall mass but they grip and go while looking like they could manage any racing venue.

Carbon fiber is used in the front splitter, rear spoiler and lift-off vented hood. The hood is 50% lighter than the original and all three pieces enhance aerodynamics. The Katech exclusive racing stripe on front fenders and rear fascia make it go even faster, of course.

Under the hood you’ll find a Halltech Killer Bee® air intake to compliment the special Katech carbon fiber valve covers.

Inside the engine, by the way, nothing is changed from the already-muscular and sophisticated Z06 motor.

Underneath is another Katech exclusive – a lightweight, 18-gauge stainless steel exhaust system incorporating an X-pipe, two lightweight mufflers, over-axle pipes with CORSA® quad tips. The whole system is designed to be a good balance between the throaty grumble of a racer and a civilized enough tone to be legal on the street.

An Exedy Twin-Disc clutch reduces drivetrain mass and makes for easy, rev-matched downshifts.

And finally, a lighter Braille battery sits in the rear for reduced weight back there.

So, you say you can’t live without one of these in your garage, Bunkie? Well, get out your checkbook and call Les Stanford Chevrolet in Dearborn, MI. They have an exclusive deal for the brand-new, fresh-out-of-the-box Katech ClubSport Z06. The price will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $109,000. If you already have a Z06 and want it transformed into a Katech ClubSport it’ll set you back about $39,000.

There are a few extras you might want to consider, though, particularly if you are going racing. A Caravaggio leather racing seat package, AC and/or radio delete as well as carpet delete for further weight reduction and the folks at Katech will install an ARE dry sump system if you like. You can also have a roll bar or harness bar and six-point harness installed.

Even though they don’t change anything inside the engine, power is boosted slightly from the stock 505 to about 535 because of the air intake and other barely tangibles. Of course the lighter weight is the key. Power-to-weight ratio is what they’re after and this Z06 has gone from the stock 5.45 pounds/horsepower to 5.28 fully optimized.

As I alluded at the beginning, I have not had a chance to get behind the wheel but I have quizzed the fellows who’ve been involved in the development of this lusty, lightweight package, the young but amazingly astute team of Jason Harding and Caleb Neuman. I’m told they can actually feel the lightness of the car and the amazing grippiness of the tires and suspension. I’ve been promised a little wheel time so I’ll update this story with my own driving impressions soon. I wonder if I can get it on a race track.

If you’d like to know more or you’re squirming in your easy chair thinking which of your investment accounts needs to be cleaned out you can call Les Stanford Chevrolet at 800-699-VETT or see their Web site at www.lesstanford.com, or you can check it out at Katech – 866-KATECH! www.katechengines.com.