Tag: 2004 z06 corvette

2004 Commemorative Edition Z06 Corvette – The “Best” C5 Vette?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 12.4.11

A Look Back at the Last of the C5 Corvettes. Was this the “Best” C5?

For the last six months in my VETTE Magazine monthly column, I have been looking back at the end of each generation Corvette with the question, “Was this the best C_ Corvette?” (with the exception of last month where I covered the Greenwood No. 49 Corvette race car that sold at the RM Monterey Auction in August ‘11). The tern “best” is subjective because it depends on what an owner’s purpose for the car happens to be. It’s easy to make a case that the “Big Brake” ‘62 Corvette Fuelie racer kit and the ‘67 aluminum head 427/437 L89 Corvettes were the “best” of their respective generation cars based on stout performance. potential. Same with the LT5 optioned ‘96 Collector Edition Corvette with its fat ZR-1 wheels and tires. The ‘82 Collector Edition Corvette was a completely different animal. “Stout” it was not, but it was arguably the most refined of the C3 Corvettes with the liftback rear hatch adding functionality that should have been with the car from the beginning in ‘68.

The C5 2004 Commemorative Edition Z06 had what was arguably the most delicious collection of creature comforts, plus what was then the pinnacle of factory performance parts all included in a beautiful, distinctive package. Briefly, the ‘04 Commemorative Edition Z06 had the following unique features that, from a performance point of view, made it “the best C5: unique paint, stripes and graphics, special interior trim, the 1SB option package, the Z06 suspension, the ultra-stiff Z06 structure, the LS6 405-horsepower engine, AND the carbon fiber hood. When the customer took delivery of their 2004 Commemorative Edition Z06, they were driving home in a totally maxed out C5 Corvette. Continue reading “2004 Commemorative Edition Z06 Corvette – The “Best” C5 Vette?” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: August 2004 – Motor Trend Magazine Splashes the Beautiful 2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette

Published on by Scott
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Dateline: 8.3.11
A Corvette Beauty and a Beast
It seems that in the last few years, the Corvette market is so hungry for cool new special editions that Chevrolet launches their latest special Vettes sooner and sooner. But it wasn’t long ago when that wasn’t the standard. Car companies traditionally previewed their new cars to the press in the Summer so that by the time Fall came around, the magazines would hit the news stands just before the new cars arrive in dealer’s showrooms. That allowed for some salivation time for fans.

When the September issue of Motor Trend arrived in early August ‘03, Corvette fans had a tasty treat! Could MT have made a bigger splash for the new 2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette? Yes, but no much more so. The driver’s side front fender was cropped slightly to better fill the cover and the Saleen S7 and Mosler MT900S got postage stamp-sized pictures in the lower left. For Corvette fans, this was a “gotta have and save issue.” I sure did!

The three-page spread spelled it all out. The ‘04 Commemorative Edition was a salute to the back-to-back class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A “Le Mans win” is like nothing else in the world of sports car racing. Someone once remarked, “You can win Daytona and only a few will remember. Win at Le Mans, and everyone remembers!” The Commemorative Edition was an option on all three Corvette models; the Coupe, Convertible, and the Z06. The package consisted of unique paint  and stripes, special emblems, and embroidery on the seat backs. Price for the coupe and convertible option was $3,700 and $4,335 for the Z06.

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Why $635 extra for the Z06, you wonder? Since the Z06 was the performance version of the C5, packing the 405-horsepower LS6 engine, Corvette planners thought it was only right to help the Z06 along a little by replaced the 31.3-pound stock fiberglass hood with a 20.5-pound carbon fiber hood. Was a 10.6-pound weight saving worth $635? Well… when you consider that the Z06 package put the C5 closer to a race car in terms of suspension enhancements, plus an extra 55-horsepower over the base LS1 engine… ah it depended on how deep you pocket were. The Z06 option was already $7,850 over the base coupe, plus the $4,335 for the Commemorative Edition option. So a buyer was looking at a $12,185 OVER the price of a base ‘04 Coupe for the Commemorative Edition Z06.

And in an almost typical Chevrolet understated way, the only visual difference on the Z06’s carbon fiber hood was the space between the red and white stripe where the carbon fiber is covered in clear. Yes, subtle, but there it was for Corvette lovers to hunt for. Today, carbon fiber is its own “look” and typically flaunted. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: August 2004 – Motor Trend Magazine Splashes the Beautiful 2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette” →

2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette – The “Best” C5 Corvette?

Published on by Scott

It all goes back to one man’s passion for racing. Zora Arkus-Duntov was the only executive at GM that ever raced a car at Le Mans, let alone have class wins in ‘54 and ’55. Duntov took his passion and experience and poured it into Chevrolet’s little beauty queen, the Corvette, taking the car to legendary status.

Duntov had the kind of expertise that only comes from seat of the parts experience of putting it all on the line in a four-wheel drift. With each new development in the Corvette, he always had racing on his mind. Bill Mitchell called this quality, “having gasoline in your veins.” No sooner had Duntov stuffed the new 265 small-block into the ‘55 Vette, he started secretly working on his first Le Mans intended racer, the Corvette SS. Continue reading “2004 Commemorative Edition Corvette – The “Best” C5 Corvette?” →