2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - Scene-Stealer Of The 2014 Detroit Auto Show

COBO Center, Detroit, Michigan

January 13th - January 26th, 2014

  Today brings a close officially to the 2014 International Auto Show held in Detroit. The event which kicked off January 13th like always was a spectacular show of conceptually designed vehicles. Most based on current and future technology and design. The cars and trucks on display for 2014 were some of the most advanced designs seen in decades. It seemed here this year Detroit had some of the most coveted vehicles on the planet on display.
    One of the cars featured, the new Cadillac CTS seems to  be poised to take over the entry-level Luxury sedan market, at least for the next few years as the car has gotten great reviews it seems across the board. Not only from high car enthusiast but also from most major automotive publications and has won a few awards in the process such as Motor Trends' highly coveted  "Car Of The Year Award" for 2014. Sedan DeVille of past generations while clearly showing the future in every newly designed curve and touch command. One thing was for sure as the CTS slowly rotated gleaming for all to see. One thing everyone anyone knew at first glance was...it was a Cadillac.

The CTS does seem to bring back some of that priceless Cadillac mystique of the 
     Another scene-stealer at the Auto show was the newest entry from Porsche on their World-famous 911-Model. The irony was that they chose tho go back more or less to the original 911 design. That of the classic Targa. The new Targa at first glance seems to perfectly duplicate the cutting lines of the original model. Targa, a brief history the 911 model had had moderate success through the 1960's. The name "Targa" which means "shield" in Italian came from the Targa Florio sports car road race in Sicily, Italy one in which Porsche had notable success. For whatever reason it was believed that the United States would soon be outlawing full-convertible vehicles altogether. So Porsche responded with the Targa, a sort of pseudo-convertible quipped with a removable roof panel and a removable plastic rear window. Introduced to the U.S. in 1967 the Targa was an instant smash success with the most distinguished feature being the highly noticeable stainless steel Roll-Bar. For what ever reason the Roll-Bar highly distinguished the Targa making it an instant collector's item.
      A manual  process on the original Targa, the entire convert-process is 100% mechanical performed from start to finish in less than 2- seconds! The car itself from a design standpoint is essentially beautiful as German design shows a seamless integration between art and mechanics with this 911. Especially sleek in Black (looks like Denzel in a Tux) the new 911 is ready for most any occasion. Pure eye-candy both at a perfect standstill as well as at 180 miles per hour!
Back to  the present, the 2015 911 Targa has done a great job of re-inventing the removable roof panel and a removable plastic rear window a new technological twist. As opposed to being a
       Who stole the show? 625-horsepower from a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine ??? What was the most anticipated return of the show? The return of the Z06, the all-new 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06. An absolute scene stealer as it sat epitomizing the pure return of the "Muscle-Car". Introduced by Chevrolet as their corporate and performance flagship, production began in 2001 and ended with the 2004 model year.
       I have to take a deep breath to get this article in. Few years ago I had a close friend that owned one of the 1st Z06's to come off production back in 2001. A 6-Speed manual that had 200 on the speedometer! I drove this car on several occasions (as many as I could come up with do so) and to me it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I had never held absolute control over anything before with this much power. The sheer horsepower that sat waiting for me to manipulate in anyway I chose was an absolute experience in itself. Manually shifted in between 6 separate gears maneuvering massive power at a split seconds notice. This was one of the few times I didn't  listen to the radio, this car had a heartbeat and I wanted to hear it. I wanted to know what it sounded like to go from 0-100 MPH in a few seconds, then instantly untilize the massive stopping-power built into this machine by Chevrolet.

      So when Chevy announced it be re-introducing the Z06 for 2015 I'm sure lots of enthusiast cheered like I did. after all it was a one of a kind car, a Corvette in every sense. The new version...of course with so many new features and advances in technology there were a few changes made to the new Z06. All of course in the name of improvement. Improvements such as 625-horsepower from a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine, 120-horsepower more than the original Z06, an eight-speed automatic transmission is available (yet true enthusiast such as myself truly believe sports cars by definition are manually shifted) , although Chevy like always managed to cover all bases by still allowing buyers the option of traditional stick shift (manual) on the new model Z06.
     Personally I like this Z06 it seems to bring back the nostalgia of the "Stingray", the free and open sports car feel of the 1960's while clearly displaying the "Muscle" of the 1970's. The first generation Corvette was introduced in 1953. Originally designed to be a show car for the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, the Corvette went on to generated enough interest to eventually convince GM to make a production version and offer it for sale! Thank goodness for the 1953 Motorama display!
    The Corvette has come a long way. As it sits here today in Detroit in 2014 representing 2015 as always it could truly and accurately still be defined as a beast, a true meat eater in the automotive jungle of fast cars. This is still and always will be America's Sportscar, The Corvette by Chevrolet.