Darth Xed

Pulled this from www.corvetteforum.com ... sounds pretty authentic.

ZO6 member reports on C6 sighting! Very cooool!
Saw a C6 Test Mule
I was at a park in Milford, Michigan today (GM has a proving ground in Milford) with my Z06. I saw a black C5 coupe parked in the parking lot and I decided to park next to it. Of course, I left one empty spot between the coupe and my Z06. So as I pulled up beside it, I noticed a couple of interesting things. First off, below the taillights and on either side of the license plate behind the rear wheels are normally vents with a cross member. On this car, the cross members were removed electrical plugs were installed. Hmmm….. That’s interesting…. check the license plates. Manufacturer plates. Time for a closer look.

Exterior

The car had aftermarket wheels on it with 295R19’s on the rear and 245R18’s on the front. The tires said that they were Goodyear F1 EMTs, but they weren’t like the normal EMT’s that I am used to seeing. At the center of each tire’s tread pattern was a tread block that extended all the way around the tire, like the Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

The exhaust was definitely new too. There were four new circular and polished exhaust tips and the mufflers where straight through units, not the kind that sit behind the rear wheels as on the C5. How is that possible? Well, it looked like the deep, rear trunk compartment inside the car had been removed. Normally where an aftermarket exhaust plate would go were two mufflers with two tips each.

From the exterior, the rest of the car looked pretty much as a regular C5 coupe does. The brakes looked like stock C5 units.

Interior

The interior had more than a few things of interest. First off, attached to the dash was a note saying that this car had a “gamma block 1 series” LS2 engine, or something like that. LS2 was definitely in the description. The note was warning the operator that the oil dipstick had not been calibrated for this engine and that the engine uses 6 quarts with an extra half a quart to fill the oil filter. The interior of the car also had an extensive data acquisition system in the trunk with several obvious thermal couple connectors.

The dash on the car had some new pieces it as well. Right behind the central windshield defroster was a small speaker. I presume that the speaker was attached to the audio system. The center dash was all new. The LCD displays (two, maybe one for the radio and one for the temp control, both were four or five inches wide) were brownish in tint. Maybe the displays have tan letters and numbers rather than the green we have now in the C5. There were fewer buttons and the buttons for temp control and audio control were smaller and looked more sophisticated than those on the C5. Gone were the oversized buttons with large numbers and symbols. A short throw shifter was also installed.

The gage cluster had a makeover as well. From what I could see, the layout was the same as the C5, but interestingly, I couldn’t see any numbers or letters on the dash. I don’t know if the gages had digital faces with analog needles or exactly what. There were definitely analog gage needles though. The speedometer and tachometer had polished or chrome bezels on them too. The steering wheel was new and had a polished or chrome disk at the center that was a couple of inches in diameter (there were no Corvette emblems on the car). The windshield wiper and turn signal stalks had new graphics on them. There were no words on either, only symbols to tell the operator what they did.

The seats looked like stock C5 sport seats.

Encounter

I looked over the car for about half an hour and waited for the driver to come back. When he did, I asked him if he could tell me anything about the car. He just confirmed that it was a C6 prototype with a C5 body. The only other thing he said that was the Chevy was working on some powertrain enhancements for the C6. He started the car and drove off. The exhaust had a nice rumble to it and I could hear the low speed shutter characteristic of the C5 as it starts from a stop.

SNEAKY NEIL

That is very interesting. Sounds pretty legit to me too. To bad he couldn't get a peak at under the hood. I am kinda surprised that the guy confirmed that it was a C6 test mule. Hopefully, there will soon be some C6's spotted with the actual C6 body panels on them. Can't wait.

Sixer-Bird

Interesting. Maybe I can spot one if they do some testing in Texas. GM does have some offices near me, and the Arlington plant is about 20 minutes away.

From what the description says, it sounds like the C6 is indeed going to be a bit more compact.

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-Joshua
1997 Bright Red T/A WS6 M6
I was thinking dagger. -Steve Nash

99SilverSS

Yea most likely a powertrain test mule. They are allowed to usually leave GM property. Body design prototypes usually never leave GM grounds and IF they do they go out heavily cladded. LS2 is interesting to me. I thought powertrain was working on another motor with a different designation. Could just be some uprgades like heads or cam on a LS1 so they call it LS2. I've seen lots of protypes over the years in the Metro area. I remember in 1996 seeing Camaro's with what became the 1997 Corvette rims and the center exhaust. And a large bumb on the hood. it was the C5 LS1 tests being done on city roads. Most test mules are devoid of any markings. Keep your eyes open and you'll catch lots of new GM iron driving around Milford. Infact there is a road where its possible to view inside the test grounds. Gm knows lots of spy photographers flock there so they sometimes slow down and let the cat otta the bag right before they release something. Its free press and it causes a stirr!

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2002 Z28 white/neutral A4 3.23
13.33 @ 104.7 - 650 miles
286rwhp/311rwtq - 1300 miles
STOCK for now!
Gone but not forgotten,
1999 Silver SS 6M #3956
1997 Black Z28 A4 3.23
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Ryan S.

!!!TED!!!

Im assuming LS2 is the more powerful base engine?

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---Ted Krygier-->

TED ONLINE

Darth Xed

Seems to be a logical assumption to me...

CLEAN

Don't you know GM has to hate the internet at times like this? But like the guy said, a powertrain mule isn't that big of a breach, since all you see is a different type of center exhaust, and a few minor tweaks.

elevario

If you get the new road and track, you can see the new c6! It is bad A$$!!!!!!

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1992 Polo Green RS

Z28Wilson

Gawd I HOPE that isn't really the C6...

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Mark

94 Z28, Red, A4, 3:23
Lone Mods--LPE CAI, !Lapeer Dragway.
(Hey, I'm a college boy I can't afford gobs of bolt-ons!)

Best time: 14.658 @ 95.1
with SES light on and Driver off! (First and only time at track)

The F-body will NEVER die.

cmc

Hmmm. What happened to the oft-rumored LS88 twin-cam engine? Is the XV8 design still going for the first-year C6, or is that a "couple-years-later" mid-run change?

Darth Xed

That thing is , thankfully, just Road and Track's vision of the C6... and I believe someone even mentioned it was based off the Solstice more than anything else.

cmc

(Those are Bonneville G/XP wheels on the R&T Corvette, by the way...)

The 'numberless' gauges are probably backlit with fluorescent/other bright lighting. Ever sit in a new Deville with the key off?

Sitting Bull

That is one BORING looking Vette!

Sheesh, it looks like an imitation 350ZX or Porsche 911.

Yuck!!!

elevario

Wow, I must be the only person who likes it. I think it kind of looks like a 300zx. So that's not really the vette huh? I thought the pictures looked kind of wierd. Heh

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1992 Polo Green RS