Today Pratt and Miller is a world-renowned product development company that innovates everything from software solutions to robotics. However, the company has not lost sight of its beginnings in automotive racing as the company is responsible for creating the Camaro GT4.R race car.
While the new GT4.R has nearly a dozen wins under its belt, it is not the car that Pratt and Miller used to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times. That title goes to the Corvette. In 2006, Pratt and Miller unveiled a special edition Corvette at SEMA, the C6RS. If you have never heard of it, well that’s probably because they only made seven of them and number one was quickly snatched up by Jay Leno who is more than happy to share a look at the car with Jay Leno’s Garage Viewers here.
While the package incorporated a lot of the companies racing technology, including a custom-built 8.2-liter K-Tech engine with over 600-horsepower, the goal of the C6RS was to address all of the usual complaints about the Z06 and make the ultimate Corvette.
Starting with a donor Z06, Pratt and Miller would strip the car down to the soundproofing and frame. They replaced the original soundproofing with Dyno-mat and most of the original fiber glass with carbon fiber while adding about an inch and a half to the overall width of the car.
Just as much effort was put into the interior as the team spent around 150 hours on stitching alone to address one of the biggest complaints about the Corvette. Then turning their focus to performance, they built a custom engine that puts out over 600 horsepower and torque.
While that may seem like a nominal amount of power when compared to the power output of today’s cars, this was before the days of seeing whose engine could handle the most boost and 600-horsepower with a matching amount of torque was almost unheard of in 2006.
However, even today 600 naturally aspirated horsepower is an extreme number. The end result of this extensive labor is a Corvette that effectively matches Lamborghini and Ferrari in quality, performance, and, at $185,000 on top of the cost of a Z06, price as well.
Elizabeth is a hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
