It’s no secret that GM tests the integrity of its automobiles by sacrificing a few at the hands of those tasked with quickly and unceremoniously disassembling the cars with extreme prejudice before they can be offered to the public. These tests are done in a controlled situation to validate the car’s level of safety in a crash. The information is still quite relevant in this case, although we see that this first crash involving C8 Z06 out in the real world was much less controlled.
In an Instagram post by zr1_m7, we see one photo of a C8 Z06 that was obviously the subject of driver error. The incident occurred as the Z06 traveled on W. Maple Road in Bloomfield, Michigan. According to reports, the Z-car was struck by a Volkswagen Jetta turning left from the opposing lane.
We don’t know who was driving the Z06, but since the first Z06 customer cars have yet to be delivered, this most likely was a pre-production Z06 driven by a GM employee. The incident reported no injuries, save for the Corvette’s and the Volks-hammer’s body panels.
While no one likes to be known as the first to ball up a brand-new car, a lot can be learned from such incidents. Real-world scenarios are vastly different from controlled crashes. Since GM already has the title to this sullied supercar, we’d bet this car is already back at the mother ship’s garage with its creators scouring over the carnage. While the damage doesn’t seem overly significant, at least not like the severed C8s we’ve already seen, we’re sure that GM will be learning how the C8’s mid-engine platform copes with the real world when things go sideways – literally.
Thankfully, no one was reported as injured, but we can only imagine the hit to the driver’s pride being the individual involved in the first C8 Z06 crash. Who knows, maybe this car was slated as one of those poor souls designated as “not for sale to the public.” In this case, the vehicle may have met a similar fate in the end. Either way, we somberly lower our brow and pay our respects to the first civilian casualty of GM’s newest supercar. RIP.