Video: The new Corvette Z06 will sound rather like a Ferrari

It’s been around two years since we got our first look at the first mid-engined Corvette. Though it looks and goes like a supercar, behind the driver of a C8 Stingray beats a familiar and somewhat agricultural heart, displacing 6.2-litres with a single cam and pushrods. The small block is a simple, powerful and reliable old beast that’s been GM’s bread and butter for decades. But as this teaser for the C8 Z06 all but guarantees, the hottest Corvette yet is due to get an engine befitting a supercar, to match its looks.

Now with four overhead cams instead of the one straight through the block, in addition to a flat-plane crank, the Z06 will feature an engine design more often seen in Ferraris and McLarens, than Corvettes and Camaros. Indeed, that sound is befitting more a machine born in Maranello than Michigan. Rumour has this new V8 displacing around 5.5 litres and producing around 650PS (478kW). The rest with Z06s is de rigour. It’ll be wider, more aggressive and developed more still for hardcore track work.

Chevrolet follows in the footsteps of Ford in overhauling an American icon with European-inspired engine upgrades. The 2015 Ford Mustang GT350 featured a flat-plane crank, giving it an almighty howl and a redline over 8,000rpm. We can expect the same and more from the next Z06, which is due to be fully unveiled in the Autumn. What’s more, with right-hand drive Corvettes finally becoming a reality, we may yet see this screaming pretender to the Ferrari 458’s sonorous crown reach UK shores.