2008 Pratt & Miller Chevrolet Corvette C6RS
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2008 Pratt & Miller Chevrolet Corvette C6RS - First Drive Review
What could possibly lie beyond the Chevy Corvette ZR1? This.
The Chevrolet Corvette has more power than most people would ever want. For those who aren’t satisfied with the 430 horsepower found under the base Corvette’s long, shapely hood, though, the truly decadent 505-hp Corvette Z06 steps it up a big notch to become one of the most capable and quick sports cars on the planet. Still want more? In 2009, the Corvette ZR1 returns as the new so-called King of the Hill, with 638 horsepower and a $100,000 price tag.
Then there are those for whom even that won’t do. And for them, Pratt & Miller builds the C6RS.
“The C6RS is what a Corvette can become when not restricted by the requirements of assembly-line-based manufacturing,” says spokesman Brandon Widmer of Pratt & Miller Engineering and Fabrication, the outfit GM hired to build its enigmatically successful C5.S and C6.R race cars. That’s right, the same cars that have been pummeling the field in American Le Mans Series races for years, and the same cars that have clinched five class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If anyone knows how to make a Corvette more exciting, it’s these guys.
The C6RS was born when Chevrolet approached Pratt & Miller to develop some Corvette accessories in February 2006. Soon, however, it became clear that a full upgrade package would require a complete reengineering. “With the C6RS, we analyzed every major component of the production Corvette, looking for opportunities to optimize design for performance, durability, quality, and aesthetics,” says Widmer.
The result is the stunning coupe seen here. After our first drive of the thrilling coupe at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, we’d say that Pratt & Miller’s holistic efforts have paid off. The C6RS is a very refined, comprehensively modified, and extremely fast Corvette-based super-sports car. It clearly has the soul of a race car but is actually a fully finished, fully refined road car that would be impossible to replicate piece by piece. And at a price of about $260,000, it’s not one you’ll see every day.
C6.R-Inspired Styling
The C6RS is a stunning piece of sculpture. Every body panel except the roof, targa bar, decklid/backlight, and door skins have been replaced by unique, aerodynamically optimized carbon-fiber panels. “Many design cues come from the C6.R race car,” Widmer tells us, referencing the ‘“waterfall style” hood, the center-lock wheels, and the car’s most distinctive element, some four feet of front-fender louvers.
More carbon fiber can be found underlining every lower edge, jutting out from the chin spoiler, underneath the flared door sills, and across the whole rear end in the form of a wide air diffuser. The C6RS rides on a suspension lowered by 1.5 inches, so Pratt & Miller saw fit to incorporate a lift system to raise the car for steep driveway approaches, as well as drop the car an inch for a little bad-boy slam when parked at the local show-and-shine.
Certain aesthetics, such as the lights, are unchanged—a missed opportunity to impart some additional exotica, perhaps? But still others are altered, if only in subtle ways: The door pulls, for example, are filled in by a fraction of an inch; the fender ducts and the hood nostril are enlarged; the tacked-on Corvette flag icons front and rear are shaved to about half their thickness. A full-width rear lip spoiler spans the tail, looking better than the tacky black mini-lip on the Z06.
Look closely, and you’ll see a bit of C5 in the rear end. The reason is that the haunches stretch out farther laterally before dropping over the wheels, creating more of a slab-sided look, whereas the Z06 goes more for the flared-lip look. From behind, this makes for one massively wide derrière. A cool detail: The reverse lights are integrated into a thin LED strip just above the tailpipes.
What could possibly lie beyond the Chevy Corvette ZR1? This.
The Chevrolet Corvette has more power than most people would ever want. For those who aren’t satisfied with the 430 horsepower found under the base Corvette’s long, shapely hood, though, the truly decadent 505-hp Corvette Z06 steps it up a big notch to become one of the most capable and quick sports cars on the planet. Still want more? In 2009, the Corvette ZR1 returns as the new so-called King of the Hill, with 638 horsepower and a $100,000 price tag.
Then there are those for whom even that won’t do. And for them, Pratt & Miller builds the C6RS.
“The C6RS is what a Corvette can become when not restricted by the requirements of assembly-line-based manufacturing,” says spokesman Brandon Widmer of Pratt & Miller Engineering and Fabrication, the outfit GM hired to build its enigmatically successful C5.S and C6.R race cars. That’s right, the same cars that have been pummeling the field in American Le Mans Series races for years, and the same cars that have clinched five class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If anyone knows how to make a Corvette more exciting, it’s these guys.
The C6RS was born when Chevrolet approached Pratt & Miller to develop some Corvette accessories in February 2006. Soon, however, it became clear that a full upgrade package would require a complete reengineering. “With the C6RS, we analyzed every major component of the production Corvette, looking for opportunities to optimize design for performance, durability, quality, and aesthetics,” says Widmer.
The result is the stunning coupe seen here. After our first drive of the thrilling coupe at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, we’d say that Pratt & Miller’s holistic efforts have paid off. The C6RS is a very refined, comprehensively modified, and extremely fast Corvette-based super-sports car. It clearly has the soul of a race car but is actually a fully finished, fully refined road car that would be impossible to replicate piece by piece. And at a price of about $260,000, it’s not one you’ll see every day.
C6.R-Inspired Styling
The C6RS is a stunning piece of sculpture. Every body panel except the roof, targa bar, decklid/backlight, and door skins have been replaced by unique, aerodynamically optimized carbon-fiber panels. “Many design cues come from the C6.R race car,” Widmer tells us, referencing the ‘“waterfall style” hood, the center-lock wheels, and the car’s most distinctive element, some four feet of front-fender louvers.
More carbon fiber can be found underlining every lower edge, jutting out from the chin spoiler, underneath the flared door sills, and across the whole rear end in the form of a wide air diffuser. The C6RS rides on a suspension lowered by 1.5 inches, so Pratt & Miller saw fit to incorporate a lift system to raise the car for steep driveway approaches, as well as drop the car an inch for a little bad-boy slam when parked at the local show-and-shine.
Certain aesthetics, such as the lights, are unchanged—a missed opportunity to impart some additional exotica, perhaps? But still others are altered, if only in subtle ways: The door pulls, for example, are filled in by a fraction of an inch; the fender ducts and the hood nostril are enlarged; the tacked-on Corvette flag icons front and rear are shaved to about half their thickness. A full-width rear lip spoiler spans the tail, looking better than the tacky black mini-lip on the Z06.
Look closely, and you’ll see a bit of C5 in the rear end. The reason is that the haunches stretch out farther laterally before dropping over the wheels, creating more of a slab-sided look, whereas the Z06 goes more for the flared-lip look. From behind, this makes for one massively wide derrière. A cool detail: The reverse lights are integrated into a thin LED strip just above the tailpipes.
I wrote an article about Jay Leno's Corvette C6RS in November 2007 which was published in ACW. He said "The C6RS is the result of an idea we hatched to prove that high-performance cars and alternative fuel technology weren’t diametrically opposed concepts,” said Leno. “I love the idea of having 600 horsepower at my disposal, but using a homegrown alternative to gasoline.”
Leno used a 500 cubic inch (8.2 litre) LSX block with stock LS7 heads, intake and dry sump, and a bespoke crank and pistons all put together by Katech, GMs race engine builder. Modified to run on E85, the C6RS makes 600bhp and 585lb ft. Leno employed Pratt & Miller to build the carbon bodywork, modelled on the Le Mans winning C6R racecars, which features custom radiators, ram air intake, & Carbon Fibre inner fender panels that extract hot air from under the hood. I'm sure you could ask them to tune it to whatever level you wanted too. I have no idea why GM didn't just use the race car bodywork on the ZR1, they missed a trick there for sure...
Here are some pics:
Leno used a 500 cubic inch (8.2 litre) LSX block with stock LS7 heads, intake and dry sump, and a bespoke crank and pistons all put together by Katech, GMs race engine builder. Modified to run on E85, the C6RS makes 600bhp and 585lb ft. Leno employed Pratt & Miller to build the carbon bodywork, modelled on the Le Mans winning C6R racecars, which features custom radiators, ram air intake, & Carbon Fibre inner fender panels that extract hot air from under the hood. I'm sure you could ask them to tune it to whatever level you wanted too. I have no idea why GM didn't just use the race car bodywork on the ZR1, they missed a trick there for sure...
Here are some pics:
Edited by JenkinsComp on Tuesday 20th May 14:56
Edited by JenkinsComp on Tuesday 20th May 15:06
vetteheadracer][pic said:
By the way David did you give me back the US plate I lent to you? I think you did which means it must be somewhere in the bowels of my garage!
NigelI'm sure I gave it to Jan at an FB5K ACE cafe meet around the time your truck arrived.
I've got a spare California and Texas plate in the garage too if you are collecting.
David
G4HKS said:
Actually David has his car advertised in the classifieds. Nice one too.
And Dinkle, that is a C5 not a C6...
Hi Martin. Hope you are enjoying your car. Mine is up for sale - I still fancy trying out an srt10 for a year or so.And Dinkle, that is a C5 not a C6...
Edited by G4HKS on Friday 23 May 08:10
David
Edited by XTR2Turbo on Friday 23 May 14:50
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