Meet the Corvette Z06 Convertible

A point of history, fact fans: this is the first ever Z06 Convertible offered from the Corvette factory since 1963. Which makes it something of a rarity.

See, Chevy had to think long and hard before they rolled one out. "Until recently it was not possible to create a lightweight, open-roof structure strong enough to cope with the braking, cornering and acceleration of Corvette's top performance models," explains ‘Vette chief Tadge Juechter.

So this new Z06 Convertible boasts an aluminium structure some 20 per cent stiffer than that of the outgoing Z06 coupe. And there aren't any strengthening beams necessary, so we're told it weighs practically the same as the new fixed-roof Z06. In fact, the only structural differences between both cars are the mountings for the folding roof, and repositioned seat-belt mounts.

The chassis, tech equipment and power of the Convertible is exactly the same as the Coupe, which means a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 pumping out 625bhp and a slightly worrying 635lb ft of torque. There are no performance figures, but if it doesn't hit 62mph in under four seconds, we'll eat that fabric roof.

Ah yes, the roof. It can be opened and closed at speeds of up to 30mph, and features sound-absorbing padding and a glass rear window to help keep the cabin nice and quiet. All the better to hear that V8.

Otherwise it's pretty much identical to the Z06 Coupe, then. And if its anything near as good as the standard Stingray Convertible, it'll be a quite a Thing. The only other question that remains is the price. Suffice to say that, in the US at least, it'll doubtless be frustratingly affordable...