C6 Corvette specs by year (2005–2013): horsepower, weight, wheels and more

A C6 makes 400 hp from the LS2 (2005–2007 coupe and convertible), 430 hp from the LS3 (2008–2013 coupe, convertible and Grand Sport; 436 hp with the optional dual-mode exhaust), 505 hp from the Z06’s LS7 and 638 hp from the ZR1’s LS9. GM never changed an engine’s rating during its run.

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 2005, page 13 (LS2) and 2006, page 16 (LS7); owner’s manual engine data, 2005, page 354, 2008, page 378, 2009, page 384 and 2013, page 372; GM’s 2008 Corvette release (LS3) and 2009 ZR1 release (LS9). RPO is GM’s regular production option code, and NPP is the code for the dual-mode exhaust.

From 2006, GM’s ratings carry SAE certification under the J2723 procedure, which SAE approved on March 31, 2005; the 2006 kit (page 18) says GM was the first maker to use it. Three small wobbles in GM’s paper: the owner’s manuals give the LS3’s compression as 10.69:1, which the press material rounds to 10.7; the 2006 documents put the LS7 at 7,011 cc and the 2008 release at 7,008 cc and 427.6 cubic inches; and the 2006 Z06 fact file lists 475 lb-ft for the LS7, against 470 in every GM spec table, kit and owner’s manual. This page goes with 470.

Other engine data from GM:

• VIN engine code (the eighth character): U for the LS2, W for the LS3, E for the LS7, R for the 2009 LS9 and T for the 2010–2013 LS9. The earliest 2006 Z06s, up to sequence 100161, carry Y (2006 kit, page 19; 2009 and 2010 owner’s manuals).
• Fuel cut-off: about 6,500 rpm for the LS2 and LS3, 7,000 rpm for the LS7 and 6,600 rpm for the LS9 (2013 owner’s manual, page 116; the 2005 kit gives the LS2’s maximum engine speed as 6,500 rpm).
• Oiling: a wet sump on the LS2 and LS3; a dry sump, which keeps the oil in a separate tank, on the LS7, the LS9 and the LS3 in 2010–2013 Grand Sport coupes with the six-speed manual.
• Fuel: premium is recommended, not required, for the LS2 and LS3: the owner’s manuals ask for 91 octane or higher for best performance and allow 87 with slightly slower acceleration (2005 owner’s manual, page 265), and GM’s 2005 kit recommends 93. The LS7 and LS9 require premium.

LS2 vs LS3

GM made the LS3 by opening the LS2’s bore from 4.00 to 4.06 inches, keeping the 3.62-inch stroke and fitting high-flow cylinder heads (opens in new tab): 6.2 liters instead of 6.0. That’s 30 hp and 24 lb-ft more (36 hp and 28 lb-ft with the dual-mode exhaust), with peak power 100 rpm lower. The EPA rates a 2007 LS2 six-speed and a 2008 LS3 six-speed the same, 16 city and 26 highway, so the extra power cost nothing at the pump. Which to buy, and why owners lean LS3 without writing off the LS2, is in the C6 buyer’s guide.

LS3 vs LS7

Against the LS3, the LS7 has a 4.125-inch bore and a 4.00-inch stroke for 7.0 liters, 75 hp and 46 lb-ft more, 11.0:1 compression against 10.7:1, a dry sump and a fuel cut-off near 7,000 rpm instead of about 6,500. It requires premium where the LS3 only recommends it. And it comes in the lightest C6 on GM’s paper: in every year GM listed both, its Z06 figure sits below the base coupe’s (3,175 lb against 3,208 lb for 2010). Wind one out past the point where an LS3 runs out of revs and the price difference explains itself. The LS7’s titanium connecting rods and intake valves, and the cylinder head question that comes with every one, are in the C6 Z06 guide; the supercharged LS9 has the C6 ZR1 guide.

Every C6 carries its gearbox at the back of the car. Two automatics and two six-speed manuals cover the nine years:

Sources: 2005 kit, page 13 (the 2005 gearboxes and both manual sets); 2006 kit, page 16 (six-speed automatic); GM’s 2008 and 2009 Corvette releases, whose ratio tables head the standard manual column “Base and Z06”; the 2009 ZR1 release and 2010 ZR1 press guide; the 2013 press guide for the final drives; Bowling Green’s 2013 production records (opens in new tab), which list MM6 on every 2013 Z06 and 427 Convertible.

Sixth is a deep overdrive in every manual, so top speed doesn’t always come in sixth. GM’s 2005 kit credits the Z51’s “numerically lower fifth gear” with a higher top speed than the base car’s (page 10); GM’s 2010 ZR1 press guide says the ZR1 reaches its top speed in sixth.

The Grand Sport’s ratios. GM’s 2010 Grand Sport release says the Grand Sport replaced the Z51 package, and its manual kept the Z51 gearbox: the same MZ6 code and the same 2.97, 2.07, 1.43, 1.00, 0.71 and 0.57 ratios, which GM’s 2009 specifications give for the Z51. Bowling Green’s 2013 production records describe the Grand Sport’s MZ6 the same way (2.97 first, 0.71 fifth, 0.57 sixth), on 1,515 coupes and 317 convertibles. GM’s 2013 press guide prints the Grand Sport’s fifth, sixth and reverse as 0.74, 0.50 and 2.90: the base car’s figures from the column beside it, an apparent copying error no other GM document read for this page repeats.

ZR1 footnotes. GM’s 2011 ZR1 sheet rounds fifth and sixth to 0.82 and 0.68. For 2012–2013 a taller-geared six-speed (ME2) became the ZR1’s standard gearbox and the close-ratio box moved into the PDE package; the ZR1 guide covers the change.

By GM’s figures, a base C6 coupe weighs 3,179–3,217 lb depending on the year, a convertible 3,199 to 3,246 lb and a Z06 3,130 to 3,199 lb. A Grand Sport coupe is 3,311 lb and a ZR1 3,324 to 3,353 lb. The heaviest is the 2013 427 Convertible, 3,355 lb in GM’s release for it. GM’s documents don’t always agree, even within one model year:

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 2005, page 14 and page 109, and 2006, page 18; GM’s press releases and press guides for 2006–2013 and its dealer order guides for 2009, 2010 (PDF page 91), 2011 (page 94) and 2013 (page 39), each listed in Sources.

None of the C6 documents read for this page says what GM counts in a curb weight or which options the car carried, so read each figure as GM’s for that body and year, not a scale reading. Two oddities are GM’s own. Every GM document read prints the Grand Sport convertible 22 lb lighter than the Grand Sport coupe, while the base convertible is 13 lb heavier than its coupe (this site’s arithmetic). And the 2013 order guide still lists the ZR1 at 3,333 lb, after GM’s 2012 ZR1 press guide had moved it to 3,353. Weight distribution, front to rear, by GM: 51/49 for the base car, the Grand Sport and the ZR1, and 50/50 for the Z06 (2010 and 2013 press guides; 2010 ZR1 press guide).

GM’s 0–60 claims run from 4.3 seconds for a 2008 automatic to 3.4 seconds for the ZR1, and its top speeds from 186 mph to 205 mph. The magazines’ tests get a table of their own.

GM’s C6 0–60 and top-speed figures

Sources: 2005 kit, page 10; GM’s 2009 ZR1 release (opens in new tab) and GM’s other releases and press guides, listed in Sources.

GM says the Z06 makes its 3.7 seconds without leaving first gear, and that its 198 mph was recorded on Germany’s Autobahn (the Z06 guide has the story). No GM top speed turned up for a 2006 or 2009–2013 base car or for any Grand Sport, and the table doesn’t borrow a neighbor’s number. Corvette Action Center’s 2005 table lists a “GM Spec.” 0–60 of 4.5 seconds but names no GM document; the 2005 kit’s figure is 4.2 seconds to 100 km/h.

C6 magazine test results

Sources: Corvette Action Center’s 2005, 2006 Z06 and 2008 performance tables, which list each issue; Car and Driver’s and MotorTrend’s own pages for the 2009 and 2011 tests.

The magazines landed close to GM’s numbers, and on the Z06 often beat them. A six-speed base coupe ran 4.3 to 4.4 seconds in 2005 and 4.3 in 2008, and Z06 tests got as low as 3.4 seconds against GM’s 3.7. The standout is Car and Driver’s three-car test (opens in new tab): 100 mph in 7.6 seconds for the ZR1, against 9.0 for a Z51 coupe. From the Z51’s driver’s seat, that’s 1.4 seconds of watching taillights.

The C6 bolt pattern (lug pattern) is 5 x 120.65 mm (5 x 4.75 in): five studs on a 4.75-inch circle. That figure comes from the wheel trade, not from GM. ThreePiece.us’s C6 fitment guide (opens in new tab), a wheel retailer’s, gives it with M12 x 1.5 studs and a 70.3 mm center bore, and warns that it is close to, but not the same as, 5 x 120. No GM document read for this page states the C6’s bolt circle; GM’s C5 paper gives the same 4.75-inch (120.7 mm) circle and M12 x 1.5 nuts (1998 kit, page 27). Tighten the nuts to 100 lb-ft (140 N·m), the figure in all nine C6 owner’s manuals. The retailer’s 103 ft-lb is just 140 N·m converted, so go by GM.

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 2005, page 14 and 2006, page 17; GM’s 2010 and 2013 press guides, 2009 ZR1 release, 2012 Z06 highlights and 2013 427 Convertible release; the Z07 package as the C6 Z06 guide documents it from GM’s 2011–2013 papers.

No spare. Every C6 left the factory on run-flat tires (Zero Pressure is Michelin’s name for them) and without a spare. A car since moved to conventional tires needs a plan for a flat; the buyer’s guide covers it.

Tire pressure. The owner’s manuals give no everyday number; they send you to the Tire and Loading Information label on the driver’s door, so go by the label. GM’s 2005 kit prints 30 psi (210 kPa) front and rear (2005 kit, page 25), but in a generic GM service table that also lists a compact spare the C6 doesn’t have, and no GM figure turned up for the wider tires on the Z06, Grand Sport, ZR1 or 427. For driving at 175 mph or more, the manuals call for the tire’s maximum sidewall pressure or 38 psi, whichever is lower (2005 owner’s manual, page 320; 2013, page 324). The pressure monitor warns below 24 psi and above 42 psi (2005 owner’s manual, page 321).

By the owner’s manuals, a wet-sump LS2 or LS3 takes 5.5 qt (5.2 L) of oil with a filter through 2008 (6.0 qt on a 2006–2007 Z51 car or a 2008 with the extended oil cooler) and 6.0 qt (5.7 L) from 2009. A dry-sump engine takes 8.0 qt (7.6 L) in a 2006–2008 Z06 and 10.5 qt (9.9 L) from 2009, LS7, LS9 and dry-sump LS3 alike.

Sources: the owner’s manual for each year, page linked in the table; the 2011 and 2012 manuals (pages 400 and 386) match 2010.

The fuel tank holds 18.0 gal every year (68.0 L) by every manual, and the 2005 manual lists the rear axle at 1.8 qt. GM’s other paper says less in two places: its 2009–2013 press guides give the wet-sump LS3 5.5 qt where the owner’s manuals say 6.0 (go by the manual, as the C6 buyer’s guide does), and its press kits convert the 2006–2008 Z06’s 8 qt to 7.5 L where the manuals print 7.6 L.

GM’s oil, by the owner’s manuals: SAE 5W-30 every year, to GM’s GM4718M standard through 2010 (2005, page 276), dexos for 2011 and dexos1 for 2012–2013 (2013, page 280). The 2011 manual recommends Mobil 1, and from 2012 the manuals recommend it for the dry-sump engines. Dry-sump cars have their own oil-level check, described in each car’s manual and on the buyer’s guide’s checklist.

Every C6 has fixed, exposed headlamps: xenon HID (high-intensity discharge) low beams and halogen high beams. GM’s 2005 kit calls them the first exposed Corvette headlamps since 1962 (2005 kit, page 9). The HID system runs at very high voltage, and the owner’s manuals leave it to a dealer or qualified technician (2005 owner’s manual, page 304).

Sources: owner’s manuals, 2005, page 308 and 2013, page 306; the 2008 manual (page 329) gives the same numbers as 2005.

Low beams that quit when the engine is warm are a known C6 fault with a recall and a GM program behind it, covered in Known C6 problems in the buyer’s guide.

The wheelbase never moved; the body did. The Z06, Grand Sport and ZR1 wear wider fenders over a wider track.

Sources: GM Heritage Center kits, 2005, page 108 and page 15, and 2006, page 18; GM’s 2010 order guide (opens in new tab), page 90 (track widths for every model); GM’s 2007, 2010 and 2013 press material and the ZR1 releases, in Sources.

The wide body adds 3.3 in of width, 1.4 in of front track and 1.8 in of rear track (this site’s arithmetic), and the 2013 427 Convertible shares it: 175.6 in long and 75.9 in wide. GM also prints the coupe’s cargo as 22.4 cu ft (2010 order guide) and the Z06’s as 22.3 cu ft (2006 fact file). Every model has 52 cu ft of interior volume, with 38 in of headroom, 43 in of legroom, 55 in of shoulder room and 54 in of hip room, and the 2005 kit gives a 39 ft turning circle and 16.1:1 steering. No GM ground clearance figure turned up for any C6.

On the EPA’s current figures, an LS2 or LS3 car gets 15 or 16 mpg city and 24 to 26 highway, the LS7 14 or 15 city and 24 highway, and the ZR1 14 city and 20 or 21 highway. City / highway / combined:

Source: fueleconomy.gov, one record per year, engine and gearbox (record numbers in Sources), pulled October 30, 2026.

The EPA changed its test method for 2008, and fueleconomy.gov (opens in new tab) shows the 2005–2007 cars re-rated under the new one. That’s why GM’s figures from the time look better: 18 city and 25 highway for a 2005 automatic and 19 and 28 for the manual (2005 kit, page 13), and 17/27 automatic, 18/28 manual and 16/26 Z06 in GM’s 2006 release. GM’s press guides kept quoting 15/25 for an LS3 automatic and 16/26 for the manual through 2013, where the EPA’s records give 24 and 25 highway for 2011–2013, and 14/20 for the ZR1, which the EPA lists at 14/21 for 2012–2013. The EPA labels every ZR1 a gas guzzler and lists regular fuel for 2010–2013 LS3 cars; GM’s manuals recommend premium, so go by GM. Either way, a 505 hp Z06 rated at 24 mpg on the highway is a neat trick.

Bowling Green built 215,123 C6s, by this site’s sum of the yearly figures Corvette Action Center records, among them 28,004 Grand Sports, 27,994 Z06s, 4,684 ZR1s and 2,552 427 Convertibles. Each year links to its own guide, where the options, colors and changes live.

Sources: production from Corvette Action Center’s yearly pages, which record Bowling Green’s figures; prices as each year’s guide gives them, every source listed in Sources. Each row adds up to its year’s total (this site’s arithmetic).

Only the 2006 Z06, the 2009 and 2011 lines and the 2013 427’s starting price come from GM. The rest come from a dealer list, a dealer’s forum post, Corvette Action Center, Corvette Blogger and, for 2013, Vette Vues, a Corvette magazine; the year guides explain each one. Corvette Action Center notes that its 2008 count may leave out the 500 Hertz ZHZ cars.

That’s the C6 on GM’s paper. For how those numbers drive, which year to buy and what one costs now, start with the C6 buyer’s guide, then the Grand Sport, Z06 and ZR1 guides; C5 vs C6 sets the C6 beside the generation before it, and C6 vs C7 beside the one after.