Let’s face it, the C7 Z06 is the pinnacle of American automobile excellence. At least it is until the rumored mid-engine Zora Corvette is unveiled in another year or so. Thanks to its blown 6.2L Gen-V LT4 V8, it’s also a screamer, in addition to it simply being the best sorted-out Corvette ever pieced together. The C7Z is not without its controversy, however, and it’s been getting stones thrown at it by the Viper and Hellcat boys in recent months.
As a result, it seems the haters had come out in full force and there were those who were quick to pull the carpet out from under Chevrolet’s latest and brightest star. We weren’t having it, and apparently, neither is recent C7 Z06 owner, Joe Castellano. You see, Joe is a long-time Corvette fan who just had to break in his LT4 the correct way; with a quarter-mile blast down the Atco Raceway dragstrip.
With only 37 miles on the odometer (that’s not a typo), the 8-speed automatic equipped C7 Z06 blasted down the quarter in, get this, a 10.45 at 133.10. Wanting to prove that his time wasn’t a fluke, the follow up run produced his best elapsed time of 10.38 at 131.47 mph. Wow. At this point you’re probably think, “what were his mods,” and we would be happy to tell you. The car is complete bone stock down to the air filter; the only mods are a set of CCW wheels out back that are wrapped in Hoosier drag radial rubber. That’s it.
Naturally, you’ll have to consider the fact that these runs were produced at one of the fastest drags tips in the country, at sea level, on March 30th in New Jersey. The air was cool, and the track was fully-prepped. Joe’s talents are not something we can comment on, because apart from this video, we have yet to see him behind the wheel of anything else. But based on this run, we’re fairly confident in saying he’s quite competent behind the wheel.
Nice work, Joe!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
