Corvette Grand Sport X vs Z06 vs E-Ray: Which C8 Should You Buy?

I owned two Z06s, and the question I get most from people shopping one now is whether the new Grand Sport X makes the Z06 pointless. It does not, but it does make the E-Ray pointless as a new car. Chevrolet dropped the E-Ray after 2026 and the Grand Sport X took its slot, so this used to be a two-car fight and now it is three: the new hybrid, the naturally aspirated Z06, and a used E-Ray. Here is how they compare on power, daily driving, sound, track use, price and resale, and which one I would put in which garage.

Grand Sport X vs Z06 vs E-Ray: specs side by side

The Grand Sport X has the most power and the quickest 0-60 time of the three. The Z06 has the highest-revving engine and the highest top speed. The E-Ray sits in between on acceleration and trails both on trap speed.

Grand Sport X and Z06 figures from chevrolet.com; Z06 torque from KBB; Grand Sport X weight from CorvSport; E-Ray figures from The Drive and CorvSport. Prices include the $2,495 destination charge and exclude any gas guzzler tax. Weights mix curb and dry figures as published, so treat the gap as approximate.

One spec in that table is softer than it looks. Chevrolet lists the Z06 at 3,500 lb dry, CorvSport lists the Grand Sport X at 3,800 lb curb, and The Drive lists the E-Ray at 3,774 lb dry. Dry and curb weights are not the same measure, so the Z06 is lighter than the other two, but not by a clean 300 lb. My C8 weight guide breaks the measures down.

Power and acceleration: the Grand Sport X wins off the line

The Grand Sport X is the quickest of the three to 60 mph. Chevrolet rates it at 2.4 seconds, the E-Ray at 2.5 seconds and the Z06 at 2.6 seconds. The front motor is the whole story: two driven axles put power down from a stop in a way a rear-drive car cannot.

By the end of the quarter mile the Z06 has caught up. Chevrolet quotes 10.4 seconds at 131 mph for the Grand Sport X and 10.6 seconds at 131 mph for the Z06. Same trap speed, so the X gains its lead in the first few hundred feet. The E-Ray traps 126 mph at about 10.5 seconds, which is the clearest sign of how much the LS6 adds over the old LT2.

Real-world tests come in slower than the factory numbers, as they usually do:

• Grand Sport X: 2.65 seconds to 60 without rollout in a DragTimes test reported by autoevolution, against Chevrolet’s 2.4.
• E-Ray: 2.8 seconds to 60 in Edmunds’ instrumented test, against Chevrolet’s 2.5.
• Top speed: Chevrolet lists 195 mph for the Z06 with the Z07 package. The Drive and CorvSport list 183 mph for the E-Ray. Chevrolet has not published a Grand Sport X top speed.

The Grand Sport X makes 51 hp more than the Z06 and 66 hp more than the E-Ray. Corvette chief engineer Tony Roma told The Drive he is fine with the X beating the Z06 to 60 because, in his words, “they’re pretty dramatically different buyers.” Keep that in mind for every number in this section.

Daily driving and all-wheel drive: the hybrids are easier to live with

For a car you drive every week, in any weather, the Grand Sport X is the easiest of the three and the Z06 is the hardest. Roma told The Drive the Grand Sport X buyer wants straight-line speed, a grand tourer, or a car for commuting in bad weather, and he describes the Z06 as stiffer and less comfortable.

• Traction: the Grand Sport X and E-Ray drive the front wheels with an electric motor. The Z06 is rear-wheel drive only.
• Tires: Chevrolet lists all-season tires on the Grand Sport X, and CorvSport lists all-season run-flats on the E-Ray. The Z07 package puts the Z06 on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, which Chevrolet calls summer-only.
• Electric-only driving: Stealth Mode runs the Grand Sport X on the front motor for roughly 4 to 5 miles at up to 50 mph. The E-Ray tops out at 45 mph in Stealth Mode. The Z06 has no electric mode.
• Fuel economy: The Drive lists the E-Ray at 19 mpg combined and KBB lists the Z06 at 15 mpg combined. I could not find an EPA rating for the Grand Sport X yet.
• Ride: carsales.com.au drove an E-Ray and Z06 back to back and found the E-Ray calm in Tour mode and the Z06 much harsher over broken roads. The Drive found the E-Ray firm even in Tour, so none of these is a soft car.

Sound and character: the Z06 is the one you buy with your ears

The Z06 is the most distinctive of the three because of its engine. The LT6 is a 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V8, Chevrolet calls it the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever in a production car, and it revs to 8,600 rpm. KBB lists its 670 hp peak at 8,400 rpm and its 460 lb-ft at 6,300 rpm, so you work it hard to get everything out of it.

carsales.com.au describes the Z06 as subdued at low revs, howling in the mid-range and screaming at the top end. The Drive found the E-Ray’s V8 loud and engaging, with an odd, distant siren-like tone from the hybrid system on top. The Grand Sport X uses the LS6 with the front motor, and I have not found a review that singles out its sound against the Z06 yet.

Having owned two Z06s, the engine is the reason to buy one. If you want a car that feels like a race engine at the top of every gear, nothing else in this comparison does that. If you want torque everywhere and a quiet mode for leaving the neighborhood early, the hybrids do that better.

Track use: the Z06 is sharper, the Grand Sport X is heavier

On a road course the Z06 is the better tool. Roma told The Drive the Z06 is extremely rewarding and very sharp on track, while the Grand Sport X is also a good track-day car but heavier and less sharp, with all-wheel drive helping it out of corners.

• Z06 track hardware: the Z07 Performance Package adds Cup 2 tires, a unique rear spoiler and carbon ceramic Brembo brakes, and requires the Carbon Fiber Aero Package. Chevrolet quotes 195 mph with Z07.
• Grand Sport X on track: Edmunds lapped a Grand Sport X and a Z52-equipped Grand Sport at Atlanta Motorsports Park. The X, on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, started losing grip after a few laps, and the Grand Sport resisted overheating better.
• Grand Sport X vs Grand Sport lap gap: in the DragTimes test, the rear-drive Grand Sport was about three seconds a lap quicker than the X at the same track, which autoevolution credits to its tires and aero.
• E-Ray on track: carsales.com.au found the Z06 steered more directly and hunted apexes harder than the E-Ray, which it put down to the E-Ray’s front-axle drive.

I have not found a published back-to-back lap time for a Grand Sport X against a Z06 on the same day and track, so I am not going to invent a gap. The pattern from every test above points the same way: tire and aero packages decide lap times more than horsepower, and the Z06 can be ordered with the stickiest setup of the three.

Price and value: the Grand Sport X undercuts the Z06 by $9,200

The 2027 Grand Sport X starts at $112,495 and the 2027 Z06 1LZ coupe starts at $121,695, both including the $2,495 destination charge. The last new E-Ray, the 2026 1LZ coupe, was $111,095 with destination, almost the same money as a Grand Sport X.

Grand Sport X 2LT and 3LT are chevrolet.com prices plus destination. E-Ray prices are CorvSport’s 2026 MSRPs plus $2,495 destination. Gas guzzler tax not included.

Options widen the gap. The Z07 package requires the Carbon Fiber Aero Package, which runs $8,995 on its own before Z07 itself. The Grand Sport X comes with carbon ceramic brakes as standard, so the cheapest way into a C8 with carbon ceramics and all-wheel drive is now a base Grand Sport X. If you are weighing Z06 trims, my 1LZ vs 2LZ vs 3LZ breakdown covers what each step adds.

Depreciation and the used E-Ray market

A used E-Ray is now the value play of the three, because it has already taken the depreciation hit and a quicker replacement is on sale. I pulled a snapshot of TrueCar’s used E-Ray listings on November 5, 2026. These are dealer asking prices, not sale prices, and they move every day.

Snapshot of TrueCar used listings taken November 5, 2026: 34 E-Rays listed nationwide, 28 with prices shown.

The cheapest used E-Ray on that snapshot asked $89,397, about $23,098 under a new Grand Sport X 1LT. SlashGear, using Classic.com auction data from 2025, found sold E-Rays typically going for $30,000 to $40,000 under their original sticker, with the eight sales it tracked ranging from $89,000 to $148,500. The high one was an early car flipped in January 2025, before the market settled.

What that means for you as a buyer:

• A used E-Ray makes sense in the $90,000s. At that price you get hybrid all-wheel drive, carbon ceramics and the same tire sizes as the Grand Sport X for over $20,000 less.
• Above about $105,000, buy the new car. A 2027 Grand Sport X with a full warranty, 66 more horsepower and a 131-mph trap is too close in price to justify an older, discontinued model.
• Discontinued does not mean orphaned. The E-Ray was built for the 2024 to 2026 model years. Read my C8 problems by year before you buy any used C8.
• New Grand Sport X and Z06 resale is unknown. The X is too new for meaningful used data. I have not verified current used Z06 prices, so I am not quoting any.

Which one should you buy?

Match the car to how you will use it. Here is how I would split it:

• Buy the Grand Sport X if you want the quickest launch, drive year-round or in rain, want carbon ceramics without ticking boxes, or want one Corvette that does commuting, road trips and the occasional drag strip. Of these three, it is the quickest to 60.
• Buy the Z06 if you do track days, want the flat-plane V8 and 8,600-rpm redline, or care more about how the car feels at nine-tenths than what it does to 60. Add Z07 if the car will see a road course.
• Buy a used E-Ray if you want hybrid all-wheel drive and carbon ceramics for the least money and can find a clean one in the $90,000s. Skip it if the asking price is close to a new Grand Sport X.
• Buy none of them if you want the sharpest wide-body car for the least money. The rear-drive 2027 Grand Sport starts at $88,795, and with the Track Performance Package it was about three seconds a lap quicker than the X in the DragTimes test.

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Sources: Chevrolet Grand Sport X, Chevrolet Z06, KBB 2027 Z06, CorvSport E-Ray guide, CorvSport Grand Sport X debut, The Drive E-Ray review, The Drive interview with Tony Roma, Edmunds Grand Sport track test, Edmunds E-Ray, autoevolution on the DragTimes test, carsales.com.au E-Ray vs Z06, TrueCar used E-Ray listings, SlashGear on E-Ray resale.