Jeremy Clarkson Thinks C7 Z06 Is Marketing Rubbish

Jeremey Clarkson finally reviewed the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, and according to his article on the Sunday Times, it looks like he wasn’t all that impressed with a car that us Americans billed as, “A world-class supercar” and “a triumph of design and engineering.

Before we delve into an examination of his review, you have to understand that Jeremey Clarkson was first a writer before he was a TV presenter. Even before many of us gearheads were born, Clarkson was writing as a journalist for several UK based papers. For Top Gear magazine himself, he has been writing since 1993. A quick read through his article and you can see that the 55-year-old Englishman hasn’t lost his touch.

Even before his test drive began, it looks like PR from Chevrolet got the setup for the Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 all wrong. The venue wasn’t up to par to Jezza’s approval. ” There is nothing on God’s green earth that is quite as depressing as a second-division British racing circuit.” A quick examination of the race circuit layout, and it’s easy to see why Chevrolet chose this venue. With its lack of complicated curves and long straightaways, they really wanted to exploit the C7 Z06’s power.

Then there was the noise level. Even for Jezza, the C7 Z06 was just too loud. “When the Z06 leaves the line in a full-bore racing start, the noise from its four centrally mounted tailpipes is painful.” Clarkson chokes this up to the presence of all the exotic materials present in the car. According to Clarkson, they all don’t add up to making the car easier to drive, just to look good in the brochure.

Next, there was the drive itself. Not all that great. For Clarkson, the ride was way to twitchy, the power upset the rear as it was prone to sliding out and the steering wasn’t all smooth.

What can we glean from this honest stab from a world-class auto journalist? We do know that Clarkson is prone to hyperbole, so us Americans should take his review with a grain of salt. But for a journalist whose bum has spent thousands of hours in countless supercars throughout history, maybe he has a point.

But then again, maybe that’s the way we like our supercars here in America. Not sharp scalpels, but a large and wieldy battle axe. Sure it isn’t as precise as its European counterparts, but it gets the job done all the same for half the price.