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Chevy C8 Corvette Z06 interior could look something like this

A sole interior sketch might give us an idea of what Chevy designers have in mind for a new Corvette Z06.

Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.
Sean Szymkowski
2 min read
Possible sketch of Chevy Corvette Z06 interior

An image that makes us go "hmm."

Chevrolet

We've seen the 2020 Corvette Stingray in the metal, digested every ounce of information we can thus far and even driven the mid-engine sports car. With production of reimagined icon kicking off next year (a delayed timeframe, mind you), the wheels are, and likely have been, turning on the next variant: the C8 Z06.

Now we may have our first taste of what Chevy designers have in mind for a new Corvette Z06, which will no doubt dial up the mid-engine sports car's performance -- likely with a 5.5-liter V8 sporting dual-overhead cams and a flat-plane crankshaft. Buried in a slew of sketches Chevrolet provided to Roadshow of the eighth-generation Corvette's design process is the photo seen above.

Unlike any of the images provided, this is the only sketch the explicitly wears the historic Z06 badge on the steering wheel. Roadshow's staff have pored over the sketch and found a few interesting nuggets of information aside from the Z06 emblem as well. The track shown in the gauge cluster is the Mugello Circuit in Tuscany, Italy. An odd choice, since it's most famous for motorcycle racing, but this is just a sketch, after all.

Sketches show the 2020 Corvette Stingray come to life

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Secondly, there's an acronym that appears to be selected in the gauge cluster for "ARM." It's not clear what this function may serve or if it will even be present in a production Corvette Z06 or similar model. And just below the steering wheel's horn and airbag sits a big red button with "Spec Mode" printed on it.

Obviously, we don't know what this could be either. All of these possible features could go down one of two paths. One, this is a good look at what Chevy has at least dreamed of for a new Z06 and the features are representative. Or, two, the automaker's artist was sketching things just to put pen to paper.

Chevy told us in a statement the image is "an early render of a potential interior." A representative did not specify if this was specifically for the Z06. "We go through several proposals as we select final interiors and this was one of the proposals," the representative added.

What does give this image some legs is the fact the overall design is very similar to the production Corvette Stingray's interior. The gauge cluster is similar, as is the steering wheel. The infotainment screen and long strip of driver and passenger function buttons are also reminiscent of the production car. Even the gear selector buttons are in the right place.

We likely won't see a Corvette Z06 for some time yet, however. As mentioned, the standard Corvette Stingray is going into production in a delayed timeframe. The UAW-GM strike pushed production back to February 2020 with first deliveries possibly starting in March. Chevy will likely want to give the Stingray at little room to breathe before it ushers in a higher-performing model.

Originally published Nov. 11.
Update, Nov. 12: Adds comment from Chevy.

Watch this: 2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray: Radically better, here's why the C8 could leave some fans behind