As exciting as the wider bodywork and refined aerodynamics of the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 are, the 5.5-liter flatplane LT6 V-8 engine Sitting behind the driver is the star of the show. Unfortunately for new Z06 owner Marco Garcia, the motorsport-derived engine in his Corvette Z06 failed after traveling just 52 miles on the initial delivery trip.
Garcia purchased the black-on-red Corvette Z06 1LZ on December 23 from Covina Hills Chevrolet in Covina, California, according to his Youtube videos. The in-demand sports car had a sticker price of $113,975, but documentation fees and dealer charges pushed the final sale price to $182,457.38. Garcia has owned two Stingrays at this point, and even went so far as to purchase the Z06 at his modified C8. With the purchase process complete, one of the dealership’s salespeople offered to follow Garcia back to his build yard with said Stingray. Garcia would accept this offer and agreed to leave the seller at the dealership after the trade-in.
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After leaving the Stingray in the yard, the salesman jumped on the Z06 for the relatively short trip back to the dealer. Garcia noted in follow-up video of him that the two enjoyed some light tugging on the ride, but didn’t put too much pressure on the car. Garcia further noted that he is already quite familiar with the break-in procedure for the C8 rig due to his previous experiences as an owner. Shortly after returning the seller to the dealer, things went horribly wrong.
Garcia noticed a lack of power coming from the engine and opted to pull off the road to investigate. A check engine light and some aggressive rattling noises accompanied the problem, which started with just 52 miles on the odometer, Garcia says. After walking into town to charge his phone, the dealer told Garcia that he couldn’t have the car towed there that night. Also, OnStar had trouble helping as they did not yet have the proper warranty information for such a new car. Garcia was forced to tow the Z06 back to his construction yard that night.
Things didn’t get much better the next day. OnStar sent a tow truck for the car on the 24th, but that truck was not authorized to return the car to the selling dealer. That created a new problem, apparently requiring Garcia to spend hours checking OnStar service for help yet again. Once the car got to the right dealership, a ton of error codes started popping up in Garcia’s email inbox, sent through OnStar services. The most notable of these issues was listed as an engine and drivetrain error, which one would expect based on the audio found in the clip alone.
Garcia says he’s fed up with the situation and isn’t interested in continuing his experience as a Z06 owner. Once the car is fixed, he plans to pass it on to the next owner.
“Dead Z06 on sale very soon,” Garcia said in the follow-up post. “I guess I’ll probably try to fix it up and sell it to someone else. It’s a shame.”
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From the moment the Z06 debuted, General Motors has insisted that the LT6 V-8 is a foolproof engine. The LT6.R V-8 it’s been used by the Corvette Racing C8.R for a few years now, with the street engine sporting an almost identical top-end design. That said, large displacement flat V-8s are known to be tricky, as previously highlighted by Ford Voodoo V-8 and your vibration concerns.
A GM spokesperson confirmed to R&T that the company is aware of the incident involving this Z06 and is actively investigating the situation. As is common practice with this type of failure, GM will likely take this engine apart to figure out what went wrong with this specific example.
Hopefully this particular LT6 was just a rotten egg. Right now, this troubled example seems to be just a small drop in the ocean, as owners continue to take their new Z06s home.
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