Any Corvette the folks at General Motors toss us for a few days is like a dose of vehicular Zoloft, but recently, we laid our hands on an extra-strong dose of the good stuff: a Corvette Z06 with the Carbon Package. Note that we said Carbon Package, not Carbon Edition. The two are identical in terms of performance—both use the Z07 handling package, which adds on Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, magnetic ride control and 19″ wheels in front and 20″ rims in back, all wearing Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 rubber—but our tester lacked the upgraded suede interior and the carbon-fiber hood, rockers and splitter seen on the Carbon Limited Edition Z06, which Chevrolet limited to 500 production cars.

Still, clad in Supersonic Blue paint (one of two paint colors available on the Carbon Edition) and wearing 20-spoke gray wheels and the CFZ package’s rear spoiler, rocker extensions and front splitter, our C.P. was just as menacing as the actual Carbon Limited Edition model—from both inside and outside the car. As an added bonus, a Z06 equipped like ours costs a couple of grand less than the actual Carbon Edition, and does without the bold black racing-style numbers on the doors (though if you dig the racing look, it’s nothing a can of paint and a stencil can’t fix).

0-60 assistant editor Alex Bernstein took these pictures of the Z06 C.P. during his time with the car. He was able to get in a couple days of action behind the wheel, and he’s been raving about this ‘Vette ever since.

“The car is a fucking genius,” he says. “[This was] the first time I’ve gotten in a car that wanted to kill me, but was smart enough to let me just scare the shit out of myself.” His favorite memory from the time behind the wheel comes from a late-night romp along a deserted stretch of Long Island highway: “The feeling you get in third gear when you floor it from 2000 rpm to redline. It’s like you’re riding a dyno chart.”

“You feel the power climb and climb, it’s so linear, and so intense. You start out not worrying about traction, but as the rev needle rises and the devious sound from that motor becomes even more audible, you feel the tires using every tread block at their disposal,” he says.

With all that grunt from the 7.0 liter LS7 V8 headed to the rear wheels, it makes for a slightly different experience than what Alex is used to—his modified Mitsubishi Evo IX. “It’s an unfamiliar feeling for a dude so used to turbo four-cylinders and all-wheel-drive,” he says in regards to the big block’s tremendous muscle. “The acceleration and sound are so intoxicating, you know it’s in your best judgment to let off, but it’s just too fun.”

Photography: Alex Bernstein