IN THIS FEATURE One hell of a car Carbon fibre and balsa wood? Ferocious acceleration Still going, even with four punctures An American uber-car

Okay - let's get straight to the point: the Corvette Z06 is one hell of a car on paper and in the flesh. Its 7.0-litre V8 - that's a 427 to American muscle car fans - produces 505bhp and a colossal 470lb/ft of torque. This, coupled with a car whose overall weight is just 1418Kg - two kilos lighter than a 911 Carrera 2S - makes for a 0-62mph time of just 3.9seconds and a top speed of 198mph.

For less than £60k, you can play with the big boys

That's really, really fast - the only things quicker on the road are Lambo Murceilagos and Pagani Zondas - and even then not by much. By way of comparison, the Z06 laps the hallowed Nurburgring in 7 minutes and 45 seconds - just 13 seconds shy of the Porsche Carrera GT V10. But the Carrera GT costs over £300,000, so you would expect it to do well: this Corvette costs just £59,850.

Yes, for less than 60 grand, you can really play with the big boys, just as Corvette did last year when they blew away the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin at the Le Mans 24hr endurance race.