
This car was a huge step up in the C5 series. At 505 HP, it was wicked fast and a great car. Just like my 2003 Corvette, I decided to pick this car up at the National Corvette Museum. I took my Chief Financial Officer with me for the delivery – he’s a Corvette fan as well. As a matter of fact, I gave him my 1996 Corvette.
When we went for the delivery, we got a private plant tour first. I remember when they were showing us around, at one point they showed us the engine area. It was pointed out how much bigger the exhaust manifold for the Z06 motor was compared to the normal motor. I remember thinking at the time that I would have been really disappointed if I hadn’t gotten the Z06.
One of the really cool things was that when you picked up your car at the National Corvette Museum, they had it on a web-cam. While we were picking the car up, we had a lot of friends and family watching. Very cool!
We drove the car back to Chicago the next day. It was a really great trip. In the middle of Tennessee, we were on a very deserted, very straight 2 lane road. I stopped in the middle of the road, revved the motor to about 3,000 RPM and dumped the clutch. The car took off like a rocket – it was probably the best hole-shot that I had ever done.
I really loved this car, and when I got a new ZR-1 in 2009, I sold it. I wish to this day that I hadn’t. It was really a wonderful machine.