This 2002 Corvette Z06 GTR Is a 427-Powered Specter Werkes Widebody Time Capsule

Johnny Puckett Johnny Puckett |
2 min read
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A heavily reworked 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 has landed at Gateway Classic Cars' San Antonio/Austin showroom, and it barely resembles the factory car it started as. Photo credit: Motorious Inventory. The consignor represents this coupe as one of roughly 25 C5-generation Corvettes given the full Specter Werkes/Sports GTR treatment, a widebody conversion package built by the Troy, Michigan shop. With 7,841 miles showing and an asking price of $57,000, it's a rare chance to buy a documented, race-inspired Z06 build rather than track one down piece by piece.

Under the hood sits a Katech-developed C5-R 427 cubic-inch V8, rebuilt in June 2020 with Jesel rocker arms, Manley exhaust valves, Johnson tie-bar lifters, a DeWitts dual-fan cooling setup, an external oil cooler, long-tube headers, and a custom dual exhaust. Power routes through a 6-speed manual and a limited-slip differential, giving this fixed-roof Z06 a genuinely track-bred drivetrain rather than a bolt-on power adder.

The Specter Werkes GTR bodywork is what really sets this car apart visually. The widebody kit stretches the front track about 3 inches and the rear about 6 inches, and it's paired with a vented cowl-induction hood, fixed projector-style headlights, larger front fender vents, rocker extensions, a removable front splitter, and a rear wing. Silver 19-inch Forgeline GS1R wheels wear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires sized 285/30 up front and 325/30 out back, filling out those flares properly.

The chassis received matching attention: four-way adjustable Feal coilovers with Swift springs, Pfadt Race Engineering adjustable anti-sway bars, refreshed control arm bushings, SPL tie-rod ends, and SKF wheel bearings all work together to handle the wider footprint. Stopping power comes from AP Racing Pro 5000 R calipers clamping Essex two-piece slotted rotors at all four corners. Inside, high-back bucket seats with Z06 and GTR embroidery sit alongside dual-zone automatic climate control, cruise control, a head-up display, and a Bose sound system, so the cabin hasn't been stripped out in the name of lap times.

So what does a build like this mean for value? Hagerty's valuation tools currently peg a stock 2002 Corvette Z06 in #3 (Good) condition at around $24,100, and Hagerty's own sales data shows base C5 Corvettes from this era trading anywhere from the high teens to the mid-$50,000s depending on mileage and condition, with the rare exceptional example climbing as high as $275,000 at auction over the past three years. A stock Z06 sits well under this car's $57,000 ask, but that's the point: this isn't a stock Z06. It's a documented, low-mile GTR conversion with a fully built C5-R engine and race-grade suspension and brakes, the kind of provenance and rarity that tends to pull a modified Corvette's price well above Hagerty's baseline numbers for unmodified cars.

Gateway Classic Cars has become a familiar name for Motorious readers tracking the collector market, and this Z06 follows other standout consignments the dealer group has brought to auction. Shoppers who like the idea of a modified C5 but want something closer to stock can browse current listings in our Chevrolet inventory, and anyone curious how a new Z06 stacks up against this one should also check out our look at the first 2023 Corvette Z06 to land in Australia.

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