Apr 2001
In this issue:
Turkish delight
Obvious headline, great car and a lot of Muslim pride on offer with the Corvette Z03
Issue: Apr, 2008
This might be a sentence that has never been uttered before in the history of American car manufacture, but it really took a Muslim to make a Corvette attractive. The dart-shaped sports car has had several incarnations, the two most celebrated being the late-1950s classic and the sharp hair-metal staple from the early 1980s, but few enthusiasts from the rest of the world – where taste still exists – ever really appreciated its aggressive form.
But that seems to have changed at the hands of an ex-pat Turk living in Holland by the name of Ugur Sahin. The designer has something of a knack of improving on perfection, having already provided concepts for the Ferrari Dino and the Lamborghini Spiga. And he has managed to turn a brutal American beast into a slick European roadster, complete with 1960s-style Ferrari rear.
The designs were completed in the summer of 2007 and the rumours about a production model appearing spread like wildfire. In February, we at NOX learned that the rumours are true – at least, there are plans for a limited run of 100 cars to begin production by the end of the year. Pleeeeaaaase!
Body
Although built on the chassis of its predecessor, the Z06, the lightweight body of the Z03 has been built from a Fischer Motorsports carbon fibre shell that reduces weight by 45kgs.
Engine
The precise details of engine sizes haven’t been released, but there will be three packages, the best of which will be furnished with dual oil lubricated and liquid cooled turbochargers. Which sound very flash.
Output
Those three distinct engine packages will produce a range in power from 500bhp to a stomach-knotting 750bhp.
Chassis
This has been left pretty much as is from the Z06 – which might sound disappointing, but this is the same chassis that has already won Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series. If it ain’t broke…
Interior
As with all extremely expensive cars, as this one surely will be, you can chose everything inside for yourself: paint jobs, dials, customised seats, dashboard configuration, everything.
Design
“The most important goal of this project,” says Ugur Sahin, “was to determine the correct balance between the past and the present design language of the Corvette brand.” Clear?
