2023 Corvette Owner’s Manual Appears To Confirm That The Z06 Will Be A 200+ MPH Super Car

We can almost guarantee that one of the biggest attributes of the all-new 2023 Corvette Z06 will also be one of the least explored by drivers: Its top speed.

Chevrolet has yet to release any info concerning the C8 Z06’s top speed but thanks to this table in the recently revealed 2023 Corvette Owner’s Manual, we now have a good idea that the car can surpass 200 mph and should do so with ease.

The table on page 202 of the owner’s manual indicates at the minimum and maximum speeds the Corvette Z06’s transmission can be upshifted or downshifted:

For example, from first gear you can upshift into second gear at 9 mph, and in third gear, you can downshift into 2nd gear at 69 mph. So the mph range that 2nd gear operates is between 9 mph and 69 mph. At the upper levels, you can shift into fifth gear at as little as 29 mph but you can downshift from 6th gear into 5th gear at 188 mph! That’s an amazing range for the car that also boasts an 8600 rpm redline so there is plenty of bandwidth available to explore in that gear selection.

The supposition is that if you are in 6th gear and can downshift to 5th gear at 188 mph, then 6th gear should be able to take you beyond the 200 mph mark with two more gears to go. However, it’s generally acknowledged that the 7th and 8th gears on the car are overdrive gears designed to help with fuel savings so how much further over is still anyone’s guess.

The table does show that the 6th and 7th gears are “Aero Limited” so it’s also assumed that the Z06 with the standard configuration would probably have a higher top speed than the Z06 with the maximum downforce of the Z07 aero package just as the base Stingray is rated 10 mph faster with a top speed at 194 mph when compared to the Z51 Stingray with a rated top speed of 184 mph.

The question that now sits before us is where the 2023 Corvette Z06 will rank on the list of the fastest Corvettes produced. The official top speed for the C7 Z06 is something I had little trouble locating, but the general consensus appears that it was speed-governed at 186 mph. However, the actual top speed was dependent on the state of aero with the Stage 1 package offering the least amount of downforce.

The 2019 Corvette ZR1 is the current reigning King of the Hill when it comes to having the overall top speed record for the brand. The C7’s swan song was rated at 212 mph but it actually hit 214 mph during one portion of its top speed test.

Chevy’s ZR1 performed its top speed test at the Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) in Germany back in 2018. The ZR1 was run on a 7.6-mile high-speed oval in both directions to account for wind and then averaged for its official number.