2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R

2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R

In January 2023, Corvsport.com traveled to sunny Daytona Beach Florida for the 61st running of the Rolex 24 endurance race.  The event, which sees a field of homologated production and prototype race cars compete for twenty hours straight on the famous banked turns of Daytona International Speedway, often also serves as a forum for spectators to explore the latest offerings from their favorite automotive manufacturers.

As has been the case for the past several years, Chevrolet showed up in full force with their new Z06, ERay and, most exciting for Corvette racing enthusiasts everywhere, the 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

This newest Corvette race car is the first in Chevrolet’s history to meet all of FIA’s GT3 technical regulations.  The Z06 GT3.R was developed as a collaboration between GM’s Competition Motorsports Engineering (CME) division and the world-famous Pratt & Miller Engineering group from New Hudson, Michigan.  Known for their decades-long partnership with Chevrolet and for building generations of immensely successful race cars for the Corvette Racing program (including the C5-R, the C6R, the C7.R, and the current C8.R models), this latest collaboration between the two companies introduces a race car built with the intentional focus of customer racing programs.

The 2024 Z06 GT3.R will be eligible to compete in multiple championship events across North America and around the world.  Equally important, it will be offered with a “high level” of parts and technical support to its customers, making it an eligible race car for many pro and semi-pro race teams.

“The Corvette Z06 GT3.R breaks new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing program,” said Mark Stielow, director, GM Motorsports Engineering Competition. “This customer-focused racecar leverages learnings from throughout Corvette Racing’s lengthy and successful history, plus the expertise of our Corvette production design, engineering and powertrain teams.”

Of course, the 2024 Corvette Z06 GT3.R will not be limited to customer racing programs. It will also become part of the Corvette Racing program’s future lineup, making its debut as part of the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO category next year at IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar series home opener – the 2024 Rolex 24 race at Daytona.

A Fusion of Street Car and Race Car

Although incorporating shared technologies between Corvette’s production models and race cars is not a new concept, the 2024 Z06 GT3.R represents the highest level of technology transfer between the racing and production models.  Based on Chevrolet’s incredible 2023 Corvette Z06 supercar, the GT3.R  shares more components and features with its street car counterpart than any Corvette that came before it.  It is a landmark race car for Chevrolet and demonstrates Chevrolet’s intention to interweave the highest levels of technology and performance into both their race and production Corvettes.

“Corvette Racing has been an important influence on the design of Corvette production cars for 25 years,” said Tadge Juechter, executive chief engineer, Corvette. “Corvette production and racing teams worked together closely in development to maximize the benefits of a mid-engine design, sharing lessons learned that set both programs up for all-out performance on the track.”

The Z06 GT3.R evolved from an aluminum chassis frame acquired from Chevrolet’s Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  The frame provided a lightweight but immensely durable underpinning for both the Z06 and Z06 GT3.R.  Once the frame arrived at Pratt & Miller’s facility in Michigan, a purpose-built steel roll cage was fabricated and welded onto a base plate, which was then secured to the chassis.  A double-wishbone suspension was then developed for both the front and rear axles.  This configuration was selected as it promoted a higher level of adjustability, and it allowed for the fitment of racing-specific tire sizes.  It is the same front and rear suspension configuration used on the Z06 production model.  The Z06 GT3.R rides on 18-inch front and rear wheels — the same as on the C8.R.  Behind the race wheels, the CME team incorporated competition-specific springs and dampers, rotors, calipers, and brake pads.

Advanced Aerodynamics

As with any great race car, the new Z06 GT3.R had to be able to be “slippery” (in terms of its ability to move thru the air at high speeds.)  To accomplish this, advanced aerodynamic strategies were developed between Pratt & Miller’s engineering group and GM’s design studios to develop an aero package that was optimized for both the road-going Corvettes as well as the GT3 race car.  A special focus was placed on creating a vehicle profile that offered maximum downforce and stability while simultaneously reducing drag and maximizing vehicle cooling.  Their objective was to develop a GT3-spec race car that could be leveraged by drivers requiring different tire specifications, performance settings, and other customizable properties without sacrificing drivability or performance.

Both the 2024 Z06 GT3.R and the Z06 production model utilize similar (but unique) carbon fiber splitters that maximize downforce at the front of the car.  For the Z06 GT3.R however, an additional purpose-designed carbon fiber diffuser was developed and installed on the car’s underbelly.  This additional diffuser routes air from the front of the car towards the rear in order to maximize the car’s overall stability at speed.  The underbody diffuser works in conjunction with the Z06 GT3.R’s all-new rear wing.  Working together, they create a maximum level of downforce, a critical component when pushing a race car thru the demanding turns presented to it on a race track.

In addition to routing air beneath and around the car,  aggressive and efficient ducting will move air to cool internal components.  Intakes at the front of the Z06 GT3.R draw in air to cool the front brakes. A single, large opening on the hood — a different design philosophy than that found on the C8.R — extracts out air after it moves over the radiator.   Additional side ducts – nearly the same ducts as those introduced on the production model Z06 – help to cool the engine, transaxle, and rear brakes.

It is worth noting that much of the Z06 GT3.R race car’s aerodynamic profile – from the top of the windshield to the rear of the car – share the same surface elements as its production model counterpart, once more “accentuating the tie between production and racing.” (source GM Media.)

Under the Hood

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R will feature a version of the 5.5L, flat-plane crankshaft DOHC V-8 engine developed for the production model Z06.  This engine began development in 2019 during the initial, on-track testing of the C8.R, ahead of its use in the production Z06.  As with all of the production engines being built for the new Corvette Z06, the GT3.R’s LT6 engine will be assembled at the Performance Build Center in Bowling Green Kentucky.  It will share approximately 70 percent of its internal components with the production Z06 engine, including its crankshaft, connecting rods, cylinder heads, fuel injectors, coils, gaskets, and a variety of sensors.

“Racing continues to play a key role in the development of our production engines,” said Russ O’Blenes, director of the Performance and Racing Propulsion Team. “There were valuable lessons learned during the C5-R through C7.R programs that aided in the development of our V-8 engines for production and racing — many dealing with efficiency, materials and light-weighting. The flow of information from Corvette Racing to production engineering and back has helped us build race and street-car engines that are fast, reliable and efficient.”

Safety and Testing

The reveal of the Z06 GT3.R follows a two-year testing program. Virtual simulation through Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop simulator began in early 2021.  The first on-track test of the Z06 GT3.R took place in September 2022 — which means the Z06 GT3.R will have had a full year of on-track development when it is finally made available to prospective customers in the third quarter of 2023.

“We’re all very pleased with the results from the track testing program so far,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager. “What’s even more encouraging is the correlation between simulator sessions and what we’re finding in the real-world track testing. It’s another level of validation that gives us confidence in the development process.”

Chevrolet and Pratt Miller worked together to incorporate a number of driver safety features into the GT3.R, building on the safety construction introduced on the C8.R.  The Z06 GT3 features a side-impact crash structure between the driver’s side door and roll cage. Pioneered in the C7.R, the box features an outer casing of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and is filled with an aluminum honeycomb construction.  It also features an integrated steel roll cage.  Although based on the roll cage developed for the C8.R, the Z06 GT3.R’s assembly allows for easier ingress and egress.

The Future Looks Bright For Corvette Racing

The 2024 Z06 GT3.R is the latest example in a line of championship-winning Corvette race cars that date back to the late 1990s with the introduction of the Corvette Racing program and the Corvette C5-R.  As Corvette Racing enters into its 25th season, the program has scored 122 race victories around the world, including 113 in IMSA competition and has secured 14 Manufacturer’s and Driver’s championships and 15 Team titles. No team in IMSA history has won more races or championships than Corvette Racing in that span of time.  The mid-engine C8.R — the predecessor of the Z06 GT3.R — has secured 15 wins around the world since its on-track debut in 2020. The 2023 season will be its second and last with a dual program in both the WeatherTech Championship and the FIA WEC. The latter will move from the current GTE regulations to the global GT3 platform beginning in 2024.

For the 2024 race season, Chevrolet and Corvette Racing will continue targeting key sports car racing championships in both North America and around the world.  The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will see up to four Corvette Z06 GT3.R entries, with a mix of GTD PRO and GTD teams, beginning with the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in January 2024.  Two Corvette chassis will also compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the yet-to-be-named GT category.  The WEC series would include the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  At this time, Chevrolet Motorsports is also evaluating opportunities to be represented in SRO Motorsports including SRO America and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Specific team announcements including drivers will be announced at a later date.

“This has been an intense but very rewarding process,” Klauser said. “From the time we announced a Corvette GT3 car, I’ve received more inquiries than I can count. It’s a testament to a known product like Corvette, the minds behind design, development and build, and the quarter-century success of Corvette Racing.”