Corvette Z06 vs McLaren 750S: can the old guard beat the upstart?

Just like the Ferrari, the Z06 has a normally aspirated flat plane crank V8. Only it’s bigger (5.5 litres vs 4.5), produces more power (670bhp vs 597bhp) and smashes it for torque (460lb ft vs 398lb ft). The LT6 Gemini engine is handbuilt and swims against the tide of turbocharged engines. It was developed with lessons learned directly from a stripped down Ferrari engine bought on eBay and delivered from Poland to Detroit. Yes, really. Its very existence warms our souls. And it’s just one element of a car that is dripping with intent and the engineering right stuff.

Photography: Mark Riccioni

Of course, the Corvette is now mid-engined and the Z06 puts all that lovely high rev power through an 8spd dual clutch box and e-diff to the rear wheels. It also features highly sophisticated magnetic dampers, all manner of clever electronics to allow you to slowly ease your way into the car’s ultimate capability, and the Z07 package brings carbon ceramic brakes, super sticky Michelin Cup 2R tyres (345/25 ZR21 rears!), even stiffer springs and a pretty dramatic aero kit that takes the peak downforce figure up to 333kg at 186mph. In the US a Z06 with all the trick bits including carbon fibre wheels is an absolute bargain compared with European on-paper ‘rivals’. Here we expect the price to be about £150,000... which undercuts the 750S to the tune of around £100,000.

Expectations? I guess a truly wild engine and a whole lot of mechanical grip thanks to those huge cut slick tyres. However, if it’s to truly channel the ghost of the Speciale it needs to be absolutely alive to the driver’s inputs thanks to absolute precision, but also zinging with feedback and blessed with a sense of lightweight agility. That last bit could be the toughest ask of all as the Corvette is close to 1,700kg. The Speciale was 1,395kg and thanks to a carbon fibre chassis and obsessive weight savings, the McLaren 750S comes in at 1,389kg.

First impressions aren’t very wild at all. The interior is a pretty cool place to be, but in place of the McLaren’s minimalist aesthetic the Vette is overwrought, with millions of buttons, a slightly elevated driving position and a feeling of girth rather than lissom athleticism. The steering wheel has a fat rim and is, well, square. It looks odd but mostly works just fine. For track work, the car is configured for full noise, minimum electronic intervention (there are so many traction control settings it’s dizzying) and the tightest body control possible. But it doesn’t feel nervous or intimidating. Even exiting the pitlane there’s a real calmness about the steering’s rate of response and the stability of the chassis.

The engine is curious. Like all flat plane crank V8s it makes a coarse, plain noise at idle and despite the pretty big cubic capacity, the engine clearly gives its best right as it’s wound up towards the 8,600rpm limiter. I can live with that – foregoing some torque for a pure, screaming lunge into the red sounds good to me. However, in combination with the relatively chunky weight, the engine’s peaky delivery does mean it doesn’t initially feel anywhere near as strong as 670bhp suggests.

The upside to this is the Z06 has superb traction and encourages a really aggressive, attacking style. Front end grip is huge and as soon as the nose is pointing at an apex kerb it’s possible to load up the rear axle and ride the power out to the limiter. The gearbox is fast and positive – although it can be a little reluctant to deliver downshifts – and those big ceramics are reassuring for the first few laps, too. They start to fade a bit, certainly more so than the McLaren’s optional track upgrade package, but soon recover.

Better still is the Z06’s extremely progressive on-limit manners. That sharp front end doesn’t set the tail loose, but provides a precise entry point to a really neutral balance. Massive and virtually slick rear tyres might look intimidating but on a lovely dry track any oversteer comes on slowly and seems very easy to control. It’s vastly better than the competent but soft edged and pendulous standard StingRay. The Z06 doesn’t quite zing with the energy l’d hoped, but it’s mightily impressive.

Although, after about five seconds in the 750S you won’t remember the best bits of the Z06. Or the worst bits. You’ll barely remember what life was like outside of this bubble of rampant acceleration and mind-blowing response. Very few cars engage your senses like the 750S and fewer still require such concentration to drive on a race circuit. Not because of any vices, but simply because the forces coming at you are so alien. It is outrageously fast and agile, it communicates so clearly and it’s so willing to adjust its line and angle of attack according to driver inputs. There’s shock and awe but also fingertip subtlety and a kind of inertia-free clarity to everything that the 750S does.

Nobody really builds supercars like this any more. Hybrid technology has made them heavier and also helped to artificially pump up torque curves. The results can be stunning (see the Ferrari 296 GTB), but nothing conveys the raw excitement of a properly lightweight car coupled to an engine with the delivery of a hand grenade. There’s something animal about the 750S and its wild 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8. It’s a force of nature and to be in control of it, to seek out the edges of its abilities and discover it’s actually exploitable despite the ferocity of its power... well, it’s unforgettable. A vivid, rampant, breathtaking experience.

It serves up so many moments of pure joy that it’s impossible to ignore

Combine the energy being deployed by the car, multiply it by your own tingling senses and work rate, and then add the superb driving position, the perfectly placed pedals for left-foot braking... and hydraulic steering that’s a shade on the heavy side but provides lovely detail, and the result is a car that really does feel just about perfect. We collectively hate the ‘Senna’ seats, but otherwise it’s all love.

One by one, each member of staff emerges from the 750S shaking their head in mild disbelief, very often mouthing an inaudible expletive and with eyes wide. More than one person ponders whether it’s actually faster down the straights than the Valkyrie. Y’know, the gazillion pound hypercar with 1,140bhp and a 6.5-litre V12 Cosworth engine. It is that intense an experience. But everyone is laughing, too. The McLaren is fun. Old school, pee your pants fun. The spirit of the shocking supercar in the tradition of, say, the Lamborghini Countach, is strong in this car. Grown adults become kids. Isn’t that the point?

So, despite my great hopes and dreams that Corvette might have recreated and even improved upon the Ferrari 458 Speciale, it’s the McLaren 750S that emerges as the clear favourite of this pairing. It’s depressingly expensive and out of reach for most of us, but it serves up so many moments of pure joy that it’s impossible to ignore. The 750S is so sharp, so composed when howling over kerbs, so exciting when the rear tyres start to spin but the Variable Drift Control keeps the angle right where you want it, and such a spaceship whenever the track even thinks about going straight. It’s truly irresistible. Try as we might, we could only submit to its dazzling lunacy. Question is, where the hell does McLaren go from here?