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Richard Hammond loves the Corvette Z06, until the UK bill

His DRIVETRIBE road test finds plenty to enjoy in the American supercar, but import costs spoil his case for buying one.

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DRIVETRIBE Story of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? 935,633 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

Richard Hammond Loves This American Car… But Wouldn’t Buy It

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0:28Hammond introduces the naturally aspirated flat-plane crank V8 and the Corvette's attention-grabbing styling.
3:44Chevrolet explored mid-engine Corvette concepts decades before putting the layout into production.
4:41The cabin earns praise for build quality, but Hammond questions the G-meter's usefulness while driving.
5:18He explains the high-revving engine's sound and mechanical benefits, and praises the chassis grip.
6:17Hammond contrasts roughly £90,000 in America with about £220,000 for this UK-imported example.
7:14His verdict: the car impresses, but import overheads undermine its appeal at European supercar prices.

The engine isn't the problem. Richard Hammond takes a yellow Chevrolet Corvette Z06 onto a favorite Welsh road and finds the sound, grip and character he wants. What stops him is the price of getting this particular car into Britain.

Hammond puts the American price at roughly £90,000, against about £220,000 for the example he is driving. That changes the question from whether the Corvette is good to whether he would pay European exotic-car money for it. As he puts it: "A lot of what you're paying for here is paperwork."

Before that reckoning, there's an enthusiastic case for the car itself. Hammond welcomes an engine that breathes without turbochargers, explaining the high-revving flat-plane crank V8's sound and mechanical advantages. He praises the chassis grip, too. Following his electric Lotus Evija outing, this is a very different route to making a fast car entertaining.

Inside, he finds a well-stitched, substantial-feeling cabin with plenty of technology, though he questions the usefulness of watching a G-meter while driving. The review also looks back at Chevrolet's decades of mid-engine concepts before the Corvette finally adopted that layout. A separate paid advertising segment interrupts the road test.

Viewers are discussing the transatlantic price gap, while one recalls waiting for Hammond to review the mid-engine Corvette after The Grand Tour moved toward adventure specials. Here, the road test delivers a clear distinction: Hammond wants the car, but not the British bill attached to it.

Published on Trari

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What viewers say

I love how all of the outside shots of the car driving are at very obvious speed limit speeds 😂
@VonLingardSee it on YouTube
Been waiting years for Hamster to review the mid-engine Corvette! When first introduced the Grand Tour had changed formats to the Adventure specials so we didn't get any reviews from the Trio at the time, so this is nice
@Dats_MarkSee it on YouTube
I'm buying one of these and I was bummed I wasn't able to hear your opinion on it... and then you gave it to us! Thank You!
@JasonD55See it on YouTube

3 more comments

I drove a base Z51 for a week. One of the best cars I've ever driven. It's basically an American take on a 458, and after watching a documentary on it's development, I'm not surprised. It's a great car that was inspired by a great car.
@mickg11189See it on YouTube
That makes the C8 in the UK the true exotic!
@kabongpopeSee it on YouTube
2:00 Careful, Mr. Hammond. The first few years of the Corvette were inline 6 only.
@matts5430See it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube