Chevrolet today unveiled the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, a customer-focused racecar and its first-ever vehicle that has been designed to fully meet FIA GT3 technical regulations. A followup to the Corvette C8.R, which was introduced in 2019, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R builds on that program, which competed in the now discontinued GTLM class. The new racecar will compete in the GT Daytona class starting in 2024. Like its predecessor, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R will be powered by Chevrolet’s 5.5-liter, flat-plane crank DOHC V8 engine. As with the roadgoing 2023 Corvette Z06, the racecar’s engine will be built in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and even in competition-spec, it shares 70 percent of its components with the street car.
Similarly, Chevy says that the 2024
Corvette Z06 GT3.R shares many chassis components with the street car. In fact,
Pratt Miller, the team tasked with the construction of the racecars, starts
with the road going Z06’s aluminum chassis and adds a steel roll cage to it. It
then adds racing springs and dampers to it, along with brake rotors, calipers,
and pads, and 18-inch wheels. It also gets its own aero and ducting package,
albeit one that shares much in common with the road car.
Chevrolet says that the 2024 Corvette Z06
GT3.R has been testing virtually since 2021, and that it is now testing in real
life. The racecar will seek to keep Corvette Racing’s legacy of racing
dominance alive. In 25 years of IMSA racing, the team has won 113 races, as
well as 14 manufacturer’s and driver’s championships, and 15 team titles, more
than any other team in that span of time.
With its new focus on customer racing,
Chevrolet plans to send out an at-track parts truck to North American racing
events starting in 2024, with a European customer support system to follow.
Engineering, race strategy, and other help is also being offered to customer
teams.
The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will
make its racing debut in a year’s time at the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
