General Motors trademarks Z06 nameplate Down Under

JUST as Australia is gearing up to welcome the C8 Corvette Stingray, General Motors has subtly added more fuel to the fire with the discovery of a new trademark application for the infamous Z06 nameplate.

Filed on July 13 and only under Class 12 (motorised vehicles), the lack of any official badging or imagery suggests General Motors (GM) is simply protecting the Z06 nameplate for potential future use rather than confirming an imminent launch or introduction.

This point is hammered home by the fact GM itself has labelled the Z06 a 2023 model, meaning the subject of the application won’t even be available in the US until at least the middle of next year, let alone offered in Australia before the end of 2022.

A GM spokesperson confirmed GoAuto’stheory, telling us it was GM’s “best practice to trademark in order to protect assets in global markets” and that there were no immediate plans to offer the Corvette Z06 in right-hand-drive.

“There is a huge amount of interest and excitement in the all-new C8, even more so considering this is the very first time a right-hand-drive version will be available direct from the factory,” they said.

“In Australia and New Zealand, we’re working towards the launch of the all-new C8 Corvette Stingray, bringing this supercar to market is our immediate focus. 

“No right-hand drive markets have been confirmed as part of the Z06 program.”

While a right-hook Z06 looks unlikely for the time being, the factory production and availability of the Stingray means it would be far from difficult to make such a thing happen with GM acknowledging there was already local interest in the brand’s looming new performance hero.

“By their very nature, performance cars are always going to elicit much interest and excitement amongst enthusiasts,” the spokesperson said.

For the unfamiliar, the Z06 badge has long been associated with some of the most ferocious and track-capable Corvettes in history, however more recent examples have nearly always played second-fiddle to the monstrous ZR1s which come later in the model lifecycle.

Nevertheless, if reports out of the US are to be believed, the new mid-engine Z06 will comfortably retake the title as the fastest Corvette on-track – at least until a C8 ZR1 eventuates. 

While the official reveal of the Z06 isn’t scheduled to happen until October 26, a multitude of outlets both Stateside and around the world have been speculating what sort of power and performance GM’s new track hero will deliver, with various leaks pointing to a naturally aspirated 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8 developing 466kW/651Nm.

More impressively, the redline for this new double-overhead cam bent-eight is anticipated to be at roughly 9000rpm with power sent to the rear wheels via a beefed-up version of the Stingray’s Tremec eight-speed dual-clutch automatic.

According to YouTuber ‘Carspotter Jeroen’, a camouflaged Z06 wearing a particularly aggressive set of aero features clocked an unofficial Nurburgring lap time of 7:12 seconds with traffic on the circuit.

For comparison’s sake, the official lap time (free of traffic) for the standard C8 Stingray is 7:29.9.

The C8 Corvette Stingray will be imported and distributed locally by General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) from next year.