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Z Not <$100K Every Option!
Why A Z06 Under $100K "With Every Option" Is Not Happening!
It has been widely attributed that a GM spokesperson said that "you can get a Z06 with EVERY option for less than $100,000." That is not possible.
We see this tag line,"every option under $100K" in lots of places. Saw it repeatedly posted elsewhere, noting it was a statement made by Tadge Juechter; also saw a print that that statement was made by Harlan Charles; and, separately, someone said that a third GM spokesperson supposedly made the statement. Have looked at every Z06 document issued by GM and never seen that attributed statement; and also have looked at over 15 Z06 videos, yet again never seen a GM spokesperson make that statement. Yet that statement keeps getting quoted. Here's what I think.
Either a GM person, off camera, got carried away and made that statement, when he/she meant to add one key word to it, or the person who heard that spokesperson's statement missed that one key word, and thus left it out of his/her reporting.
That one word is performance! Consequently, one of the following statements is true, and one is completely inaccurate.
Statement 1: "You can get a Z06 with every option for less than $100,000.". This statement is not true!
Statement 2: "You can get a Z06 with every PERFORMANCE option for less than $100,000.". This statement is very-probably true.
For those who are already deciding on their Z06 option list who have a budget, the omission or addition of that one word difference between those two statements is a key factor.
For a 2015 Z06 to have every option and still be under $100,000, GM would have to have price the base Z06 at $53,240, AND throw in three "major freebies," (NPP, FE4:and Z-51 -- which collectively cost $5,790 in the StingRay).[/B ]. Not possible! Doing the math...
A) Price of every 2014 StingRay option (assuming no price increase in any of these options for 2015)
Destination Charge $995.00
3LT Preferred Equipment Group $8,005.00
D30 Custom Color and Trim Combinations $590.00
PIN Customer Selectable VIN $5,000.00
R8C Corvette Museum Delivery: Includes CFX (Plaque) $990.00
ERI Battery Protection Package $100.00
J6E Yellow Brake Calipers $595.00
VK3 Front License Plate Bracket & R7E $15.00
FAY Carbon Fiber Interior Appearance Package $995.00
IWE Sueded Microfiber-Wrapped Trim Package $995.00
G8A Velocity Yellow Tintcoat $995.00
C2M Carbon Fiber/Transparent Dual Roof Package $2,995.00
AE4 Competition / Performance Sport Seats With Sueded Inserts $2,495.00
TTV Carbon Flash Painted Spoiler & Outside Mirrors $100.00
MYC 6 Speed Paddle Shift Automatic Transmission $1,350.00
Q7E Chrome Aluminum Wheels $1,995.00
PBC Engine Build Experience $5,800 (2013 option; returning for 2015 MY)
The above options total $34,010, again do not include NPP, FE4, nor Z-51 StingRay options costs. Those options do NOT include any additional Z06 performance options:
B) Z06 Performance Options:
1) Stage 1 to Stage 2 with exposed CF aero package (est. $5,000); and,
2) from Stage 2 to the Stage 3, adding "Z07 package" upgrade (est. $6,000).
3) PDR Performance Data Recorder (est. $1,750)
Total additional Z06 performance options= $12,750 (est.)
Doing the previous "math backwards," we take a hypothetical "$100,000 Z06 with every option" price, and subtract the $34,010 in StingRay options above and get an initial, maximum Z06 entry price.
$100,000-$34,010 = $65,990.
We then subtract the estimated Z06 performance options' total of $12,750...
$65,990-$12,750 = $53,240 for a base 2015 Z06! Clearly that is not possible.
And of course, that also assumes GM will also throws in all of the Z06 development costs, and all of the material purchase costs for the following Z06 enhancements: bigger tires/wheels/brakes, CF torque tube, the eight-speed automatic transmission, bigger fenders and fascias, the LT4 supercharged motor and more. And, that also assumes that GM will not increase the 2015 base pricing for every Corvette.
Summary: A Z06 with every option below $100,000 "ain't happening." However, a Z06 under $100K with just every performance option is a probable certainty.
If you choose to load up the 2015 Z06 will most every option, think you will be very lucky to pay less than $115,000 -- even if you pay MSRP. To avoid this, to be under $100K, we are going to have be be very selective in our option choices, or deliberately choose to built the lightest-weight Z07 track version possible (well, maybe adding in a couple of lesser cost "niceties").
All this math does not mean that the Z06 will not be a screaming bargain, and that it will not start at the $82,000 price point that I believe that it will. Hopefully, my estimate is high, and those of you predicting a $75K to $79K entry price are right!
Why A Z06 Under $100K "With Every Option" Is Not Happening!
It has been widely attributed that a GM spokesperson said that "you can get a Z06 with EVERY option for less than $100,000." That is not possible.

We see this tag line,"every option under $100K" in lots of places. Saw it repeatedly posted elsewhere, noting it was a statement made by Tadge Juechter; also saw a print that that statement was made by Harlan Charles; and, separately, someone said that a third GM spokesperson supposedly made the statement. Have looked at every Z06 document issued by GM and never seen that attributed statement; and also have looked at over 15 Z06 videos, yet again never seen a GM spokesperson make that statement. Yet that statement keeps getting quoted. Here's what I think.
Either a GM person, off camera, got carried away and made that statement, when he/she meant to add one key word to it, or the person who heard that spokesperson's statement missed that one key word, and thus left it out of his/her reporting.
That one word is performance! Consequently, one of the following statements is true, and one is completely inaccurate.
Statement 1: "You can get a Z06 with every option for less than $100,000.". This statement is not true!
Statement 2: "You can get a Z06 with every PERFORMANCE option for less than $100,000.". This statement is very-probably true.
For those who are already deciding on their Z06 option list who have a budget, the omission or addition of that one word difference between those two statements is a key factor.
For a 2015 Z06 to have every option and still be under $100,000, GM would have to have price the base Z06 at $53,240, AND throw in three "major freebies," (NPP, FE4:and Z-51 -- which collectively cost $5,790 in the StingRay).[/B ]. Not possible! Doing the math...
A) Price of every 2014 StingRay option (assuming no price increase in any of these options for 2015)
Destination Charge $995.00
3LT Preferred Equipment Group $8,005.00
D30 Custom Color and Trim Combinations $590.00
PIN Customer Selectable VIN $5,000.00
R8C Corvette Museum Delivery: Includes CFX (Plaque) $990.00
ERI Battery Protection Package $100.00
J6E Yellow Brake Calipers $595.00
VK3 Front License Plate Bracket & R7E $15.00
FAY Carbon Fiber Interior Appearance Package $995.00
IWE Sueded Microfiber-Wrapped Trim Package $995.00
G8A Velocity Yellow Tintcoat $995.00
C2M Carbon Fiber/Transparent Dual Roof Package $2,995.00
AE4 Competition / Performance Sport Seats With Sueded Inserts $2,495.00
TTV Carbon Flash Painted Spoiler & Outside Mirrors $100.00
MYC 6 Speed Paddle Shift Automatic Transmission $1,350.00
Q7E Chrome Aluminum Wheels $1,995.00
PBC Engine Build Experience $5,800 (2013 option; returning for 2015 MY)
The above options total $34,010, again do not include NPP, FE4, nor Z-51 StingRay options costs. Those options do NOT include any additional Z06 performance options:
B) Z06 Performance Options:
1) Stage 1 to Stage 2 with exposed CF aero package (est. $5,000); and,
2) from Stage 2 to the Stage 3, adding "Z07 package" upgrade (est. $6,000).
3) PDR Performance Data Recorder (est. $1,750)
Total additional Z06 performance options= $12,750 (est.)
Doing the previous "math backwards," we take a hypothetical "$100,000 Z06 with every option" price, and subtract the $34,010 in StingRay options above and get an initial, maximum Z06 entry price.
$100,000-$34,010 = $65,990.
We then subtract the estimated Z06 performance options' total of $12,750...
$65,990-$12,750 = $53,240 for a base 2015 Z06! Clearly that is not possible.
And of course, that also assumes GM will also throws in all of the Z06 development costs, and all of the material purchase costs for the following Z06 enhancements: bigger tires/wheels/brakes, CF torque tube, the eight-speed automatic transmission, bigger fenders and fascias, the LT4 supercharged motor and more. And, that also assumes that GM will not increase the 2015 base pricing for every Corvette.
Summary: A Z06 with every option below $100,000 "ain't happening." However, a Z06 under $100K with just every performance option is a probable certainty.
If you choose to load up the 2015 Z06 will most every option, think you will be very lucky to pay less than $115,000 -- even if you pay MSRP. To avoid this, to be under $100K, we are going to have be be very selective in our option choices, or deliberately choose to built the lightest-weight Z07 track version possible (well, maybe adding in a couple of lesser cost "niceties").
All this math does not mean that the Z06 will not be a screaming bargain, and that it will not start at the $82,000 price point that I believe that it will. Hopefully, my estimate is high, and those of you predicting a $75K to $79K entry price are right!