Corvette will have a new GT3 in 2024

After years of limited programs thanks to Callaway Competition and their private built Corvettes, Chevrolet will finally step in and enter the GT3 market with an in-house product, as the Corvette Z06 GT3.R will go to the track and to the customers hands in 2024.

This was somehow a secondary announcement for the Corvette crew, as the team confirmed split programs for the final year of the Corvette C8.R GTE, as a GTE-spec car will go to the FIA WEC while an adapted car to the GT3 based GTD Pro class will stay in the United States, and consequently in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. This 2023 schedule will give time for Corvette to work on the new Z06 GT3 while also making the most of their retiring machine, which was the last GTE model released, one of the few that was fielded only by a factory squad.

The move to abide to the GT3 philosophy of customer programs was actually the only way for Corvette to stay competing and to prepare for the future, As IMSA said goodbye to the GTEs at the Petit Le Mans, and the FIA WEC, ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans will eventually move the GT class to the GT3 spec, in fact aligning with the Asian Le Mans Series and the IMSA Championship’s GTD class.

This will be the first GT3 Corvette to be built in the USA after years of work from Callaway Competition, as the German firm developed the C6-based Z06 GT3 and the C7 GT3R, which is still competing in the ADAC GT Masters. Considering the longevity of the C7 GT3R and the upcoming factory built GT3 racer, Callaway’s current car will be the last with their signature, which may offer them the possibility of following the steps of V8 Racing, which built the first Camaro GT4 cars before moving to just being a customer team.

Most of the characteristics in the road going C8 and in the C8.R GTE will be in this Z06 GT3.R, such as the flat plane crank LT6 V8 engine going up to 600 HP and the middle engine position, which was a departure from the rear placed powerplant position that lasted until the C7 era.

With the announcement being limited to showing the new car, no timeline was established for testing and the competitive debut.

PHOTO: Chevrolet