Corvette loyalists have always obsessed over spec sheets, but this spring Chevrolet is inviting them into the operating room instead of just the showroom. Buyers of the new Z06, ZR1, and ZR1X will be able to spend a day on the line helping assemble the very V8 that will power their car, turning a big-ticket option into a hands-on rite of passage. It is a rare moment where a major automaker hands over the tools and says, in effect, “Here, help build the heart of your own Corvette.”
The program revives a beloved tradition from earlier generations and updates it for the C8 era’s wilder hardware, from the screaming flat-plane LT6 to the twin-turbo LT7. For enthusiasts who already agonize over colors, carbon packages, and track options, the chance to bolt together their own engine may be the most personal box on the order sheet.
How the Engine Build Experience Works
At the center of the new offer is RPO code PBC, a factory option that lets a Corvette buyer spend a day at Chevrolet’s Performance Build Center in Kentucky working alongside a master technician. Anyone ordering a Z06, ZR1, or ZR1X can opt in and help assemble either the LT6 or the twin-turbocharged LT7, with the customer handling real components under close supervision rather than just posing for photos. The company is clear that this is not a museum demo but a structured process inside the same facility that builds production engines, with the customer’s unit destined for their own car once it passes the usual checks.
The Performance Build Center is integrated into the Bowling Green Assembly, which means participants are stepping directly into the Corvette’s home turf rather than an off-site shop. Chevrolet describes the program as a chance to “Assemble your own LT6 or LT7 engine alongside a Performance Build Center master technician at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant,” underscoring that this is the same line that feeds the Z06, ZR1, and ZR1X. The brand has framed the experience as a way to deepen the emotional connection between owner and car, not just a novelty add-on.
The company has also leaned on the program’s history to sell its return. Corvette Plant Director Ray Theriault, in a message announcing the new round of builds, pointed back to the early days in Wixom, Michigan and to C7-era visits as moments that “bonded people together in a nearly intangible way,” a sentiment echoed in coverage of the revived engine build program. That continuity matters to long-time owners who remember when the option first appeared and see its comeback as a sign that Chevrolet still understands the culture around its halo car.
Engines, Power, and the ZR1X Twist
The hardware on offer this time around is far more extreme than in past generations, which only raises the stakes for buyers who want to get their hands dirty. The LT6 in the Z06 is a 5.5-liter flat-plane V-8 that revs like a race engine, and the LT7 in the ZR1 and ZR1X adds twin turbos to push output into four-digit territory. Corvette buyers who choose the option will be able to help assemble their 670-hp naturally aspirated LT6 or their 1064-hp twin-turbo LT7, both described as 5.5-liter flat-plane V-8s in program materials, before those engines are installed in their cars at Bowling Green. The idea is that every future cold start and wide-open throttle pull will carry the memory of torquing down fasteners and watching the engine come together on the stand.
The ZR1X adds an extra layer of intrigue, since it is positioned as an electrified, all-wheel-drive Corvette that blends the LT7 with hybrid assistance. Dealer materials break out the Performance and Engine for the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X, describing an LT7 Twin-Turbo V8 that generates hypercar-level power and works with an advanced aero system to enhance downforce and stability. Chevrolet’s own ZR1X page invites customers to “Assemble your own LT6 or LT7 engine alongside a Performance Build Center master technician,” making it clear that even the flagship hybrid’s combustion heart is fair game for the build experience.
The company has already used the ZR1X to showcase just how special this option can be. With the 1-of-1 ZR1X offered for sale at Barrett-Jackson and selling for $2.6 Million, GM bundled in the chance for the buyer to hand assemble the car’s engine as a “cool perk.” That car hammered at $2.6 M, but the message to regular customers was simple: the same kind of intimate build experience attached to a charity one-off is now being opened up, in more affordable form, to anyone speccing a Z06, ZR1, or ZR1X.
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