Chevrolet charges you to install your Corvette Z06 engine yourself at the factory.

From BMW to Ferrari to Porsche, there are several sports car brands that allow their customers to  pick up their new car from the factory , with a small ceremony and a tour of the facilities or an introduction to driving.

Chevrolet  goes even further and allows buyers of the  new Corvette Z06  to come to the factory to  assemble their own engine  , the one that will go in their car. And no, there is no reduction on the final price. On the contrary, it is an option that has an additional cost.

Chevrolet announced at the beginning of September that it planned to bring back its  "Build Your Own Engine" program  for the  Corvette Z06  from the second quarter of 2023. And it is that in 2011 it was already offering this option with some success in the  previous generation  Corvette Z06  and ZR1.

Build your own engine... by hand

The program, which allows buyers to enter the factory and help workers assemble the engine before it enters their car, will only be available for Corvettes using the  LT6 engine  , a block of 5.5 liters 689. CV which rises to 8,000 rpm. For now, this means that only those who buy a Z06 will be eligible for this program.

Announced during the National Corvette Museum's 28th anniversary celebration, Corvette Assembly Plant Manager Kai Spande said the program will begin in the second quarter of 2023 at the Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, NY. Kentucky.

In previous versions of the "Build Your Own Engine" program, buyers would join assembly line workers to help assemble their engine.

However, by 2023, the Bowling Green, Ky., plant has designed a specific area of ​​the plant where attendees can help mount their engine alongside the professionals without having to walk down the line.

Thus, the buyer will be assigned a workstation where all engine parts will be taken for assembly. From introducing oil into a cylinder to fine-tuning its surface, they will work alongside a master mechanic, building the engine by hand, to complete the project.

Once the engine is complete and the mandatory power bank test is completed, the V8 will return to the factory and be installed in the customer's Corvette Z06 on the assembly line at a later date.

On the previous Corvette, a custom nameplate was added to the engine with the name of the master mechanic. A priori, on this occasion the name of the buyer will also appear on the plate as that of those who assembled the engine.

The "Build Your Own Engine" program was a  $5,800 option  in 2011. Considering all the new factory adaptations to add this option to the factory and the fact that the LT6 is a more complex engine than the previous V8, this time the option will be even more expensive. Of course, the official warranty is also maintained for the self-made LT6.