Our Z06

Corvette - America's Sports Car...born in 1953 with only 300 manufactured the first year.  Currently, over 100 times that number are manufactured annually.  Every Corvette is sold.  To receive one, a dealer has to pay in full...even if it's unsold from the dealership.

The five generations of corvette (to date) are known as C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5.  (The hood symbols for each are illustrated at right with C1 at the top).  C6 generation is due in 2005 model year.  However, the C6 version of the Z06 will not appear until 2006 model year and is rumored to have a 500 horsepower engine.

How did we get here?  In July 2001, after much discussion and many years, we finally agreed it was time to buy a 'vette for Danny.  His fascination with them goes back to his teenage years.  (OK, no comments about second childhood etc.) 

A funny thing happened after Katie drove it.  ...and therein lies a tale about a

 We ordered the car in July... an Electron Blue Z06 without seeing even a paint chip.  We first saw the color of the car in August at Carlisle.   The car was dusty and Katie was less than enthusiastic about the color. 

When our car arrived at Ourisman Rockmont dealership in Rockville, Andy Mikan, our salesman phoned and e-mailed us (in 72 point, red typeface..."It's here").  Thanks to Arlan Sprague, we have pictures of our Z's arrival on August 30, 2001, the 5039th corvette made for model year 2002.  (Approximately 1 in 5 corvettes are Z06's and about 14% of those are Electron Blue.  ...which means that our car is one of about 1000 Electron Blue Z06's.)

The dash is one difference between the Z06 and the rest of the Corvette line.  Notice the Z06 on the tach, the different redline (6500 vs. 6000) and the italicized numbers on the tach and speedometer.

September 10, 2001:  picture by Betsy Betz...taken when we drove to my parents to show them the new vette.

In early December, 2001 we received our Maryland vanity tags:  Z422ESC    (Get it?  ...if not, scroll to the bottom of the page where the * appears.)

Here's a picture of the mighty 405 horsepower, 5.7 liter, LS6 "small block" engine our 2002 Z06 uses.

If you're interested in streaming video or downloading video files (requires RealPlayer) on driving the Z06 around a track and on the LS6 engine, then check out this page at the National Corvette Museum site:

http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2001/z06_video.htm

*   The license plate is Z for Corvette Z06; 4 is FOR; 2 is TWO as in Katie and Danny; 2 is for TO; and ESC is ESCAPE. So, it's a Corvette Z06 for two (Danny and Katie) to escape in.