Fan Friday: Walter Nabozny's 2026 Black C8 Z06 Stars & Steel Convertible

Of the 250 Stars & Steel Corvettes Chevrolet built for 2026, number 116 spent the third Saturday of August parked on Woodward Avenue in front of a garage that has been standing there since 1919. Walter Nabozny brought his Black Z06 hardtop convertible to the 31st annual Woodward Dream Cruise, and his own explanation is hard to improve on: "Where better to go than back to the Motor City!"

Stars & Steel arrived for 2026 as Chevrolet's marker for America's 250th birthday, and the whole run is 250 cars spread across the entire Corvette lineup, Stingray through ZR1X, on 3LT and 3LZ trims. There are two ways to spec one. Arctic White comes with a satin silver flag-inspired stripe running the length of the car and a Santorini Blue interior. Black, like Walter's, gets the same treatment in satin black over the hood and roof, with Adrenaline Red leather inside, red seat belts and Edge Red calipers carrying the theme through. Every car wears its build sequence number twice, on the sill plates and on a plaque in the cabin, so 116 of 250 is stamped into the car itself. Behind the seats sits the 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank LT6, built in Bowling Green alongside the car, and the odometer currently reads 1,979 miles.

That LT6 is the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever fitted to a production car: 670 horsepower, with a redline at 8,600 rpm. The cruise it turned up to has a humbler origin story. In 1995 a Ferndale handyman named Nelson House and a group of local volunteers organized a one-off cruise to raise money for a neighborhood soccer field, hoping maybe 30,000 people might come. Around 250,000 did. Thirty-one years on it covers 16 miles of Woodward through nine communities between Ferndale and Pontiac, and pulls close to a million people and 40,000 cars. So Walter took one of 250 cars built for a 250th birthday to a cruise that got started when 250,000 people showed up for a soccer field.

Thanks for putting 116 on Woodward where it belongs, Walter, and good luck with the rest of the fall season. 🏎️

Getting Ready for Fall Show Season

Walter told us the Dream Cruise was the warm-up and the fall show season is what's next. Three things that earn their spot on a numbered Z06 that's going to spend the next couple of months on show fields.

C8 Z06 Aluminum Engine Builder Plaque — Anodized — The plaque that comes on the car is plastic. This one is machined from billet aluminum, and the Anodized Satin Black finish is the same satin black as the stripes on Walter's hood. Fits 2023 through 2026 Z06. → Shop the Z06 Engine Builder Plaque

C8 HTC Trunk Panel Kit, 6 pc — Polished stainless with a brushed frame, cut specifically for the hardtop convertible's trunk area. With the top stowed, that's the part of the car people lean over at a show. → Shop the HTC Trunk Panel Kit

Covercraft Sunbrella Extreme Sun Custom Car Cover for C8 — Sunbrella fabric, made for a car that sits out in the open all day and then goes away for the winter. Cut for Stingray, Z06 and Z07 fitment. → Shop the Sunbrella Extreme Sun Cover

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