Because the Corvette Z06 does not come with a "valet key" or some other type of power-robbing setting, as far as I can remember, Chevrolet engineers and product planners might seriously think about making one available after the people at Bowling Green, KY (the only facility where Corvettes are built) read the news item which follows below.
When a Z06 owner leaves their trusty steed, which carries a starting price over $72,000, in the care of what more-often-than-not is a pimply-faced 17-year old valet with a white shirt and red vest at some restaurant or elsewhere, a "valet key" feature would easily rob some of the horsepower from the machine's 505-horse 7-liter V8 (a 427cid, for you old-timers out there --- Like us!), in order to avoid incidents exactly like the one described below. (Photo - Huge, drilled discs haul Z06 down from high speeds very quickly; the valet in this story should have used them while he had a chance).
We can attest from much personal experience that the car is definitely and absolutely one which should be driven only by someone with quite a bit of experience with high-horsepower automobiles ... In spite of all the modern safety systems in and on the car, 500 horsepower is still 500 horsepower, and this was certainly one wreck about which it could honestly be said: "It could have been a lot worse!" Thanks to KNBC/TV4, the NBC "O and O" (owned-and-operated) station in Los Angeles. That's the same station which carries the new NBC auto show, "Whipnotic", every Saturday at 3pm --- Be sure to check-out the Whipnotic page on this site; we provide that program's Whipnotic.com site with much of its content. Here's the story the way it ran on the website for KNBC/TV4, Los Angeles:
A valet at Van Nuys (CA) Chevrolet dealership is accused of a joyride that culminated in the crash of a 500- horsepower Corvette, police said Saturday, according to (Los Angeles') City News Service. (Photo - Cutaway of Z06's 505 horsepower 427 V8).
The man walked away without injury, police said.
The high-performance Z06 model Corvette hit a fire hydrant, a light pole and several parked cars on Oxnard Street near Van Nuys Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. Friday -- about a half-mile from Rydell Chevrolet, according to Los Angeles police with the Valley Traffic Division and a camera crew at the scene.
The driver suffered minor injuries and declined to be taken to a hospital, according to On Scene Video. (end of KNBC story) (Photo - Z06 interior).
And we might add: This fellow doesn't want to spend any of his time at a hospital; he'll be too busy looking for a job.
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