GM’s team of engineers and designers is constantly tasked with forward-thinking ideas that will continue to build the next generation of Corvettes into the Best Vette Yet. If you were to attend any one of the annual Corvette events where GM has set up a display, you would quickly note that looking back at where Corvette has come from is just as important as forging new roads ahead.

The General has acknowledged that fact in this recent video where beloved and world-renown Corvette Racing driver, Oliver Gavin, introduces the most recent four generations of Z06 Corvettes. As a long-time member of Team Corvette, Oliver has the distinct privilege of recalling his first driving impressions of each generation of Corvette’s halo car.

C5 Z06

Corvette Racing hit the ground running with the C5 generation, which introduced the LS family of GM’s V8 to the world. The team gelled quickly and, powered by GM’s latest small block, became a force to be reconned with around the globe. The advancements engineered into the C5’s chassis continued to carry the car’s popularity onto the streets, where many examples are still reliably serving their owners today.

C6 Z06

The 405 horsepower C5 Z06 was an excellent answer for performance junkies, but when the C6 Z06 came on the scene, the world tilted on its ear to get a closer look. The performance of the Corvette had been steadily climbing since the 80s, and now, Corvette came together in a glorious combination of a highly-capable powertrain and chassis for the C6 Z06. The C6 Z06 was better simply because it was a better car. The additional 100 horsepower was just the icing on the cake!

C7 Z06

With horsepower reaching an all-time high, everyone wondered what the General had in store for the next generation Corvette. When the C7 Z06 came out, it was evident that GM understood the benefits of supercharging (which appeared in the previous generation’s ZR1 Corvette). The C7 Corvette took those lessons learned from the previous generation and built upon them.

And, in full disclosure, the C7 Z06 had a few lessons of its own to learn. With 650 horsepower, the C7 Z06 was the closest point where power and the ability to put it all down on pavement intersected. Whereas the naturally-aspirated Grand Sport Corvettes could enjoy a full day of spirited track driving, the Z06 variant could push the car’s cooling and tires to the point of exhaustion. It can be argued that the C7 Z06 was Corvette’s biggest antagonist. If performance was to continually move ahead in the next generation Corvette, it needed to be a totally redesigned platform, namely mid-engine.

C8 Z06

The mid-engine C8 Z06 Corvette is more than a continuation of lessons learned. It is also a homage to previous generations. A clean sheet build of the mid-engine platform allowed the engineers and designers to address shortcomings brought to light by earlier generations and also gave them the opportunity to integrate future improvements.

The small block Chevy V8 has shown the world that pushrod-driven engines can still perform, but like the C4 Corvette’s ZR1 option, the C8 Z06 has a special treat for those who truly enjoy a high-revving exhaust note. With 670 naturally-aspirated horsepower, the numbers show how this decision fits in as the necessary progression of performance.

The quartet of Corvettes is piloted by 5-time Le Mans winner Oliver Gavin, Aaron Link (GM Vehicle Performance Manager), Michael Hurley (GM Vehicle Performance Engineer), and Brian Wallace (GM Vehicle Performance Engineer).

In this video, the C8 Z06 Corvette is fielded by four GM representatives who are quite akin to cutting a proper apex. Each one takes off in generational succession after a 5-second lead time is given. Of course, the C8 Corvette comes out in the lead before the four cars reach the checkered finish line. While we’d bet the C8 Z-car is, in fact, the most properly suited of the four for this type of driving, we’d also bet that having Ollie in the driver’s seat doesn’t hurt to help stack the deck in the car’s favor. Then again, can you blame him? Which generation of Z06 Corvette would YOU want to drive in this situation?