The big news for 2008 was under the hood: Engine displacement was increased to 6.2 liters (376 cubic inches) via a bore increase. Output was upped to 430 hp (424 lb.-ft. torque) and a new engine designation - LS3 - announced the good news. Credit for the increase went to revised a camshaft / valvetrain, a high flow intake and the use of the Z06's fuel injectors. A new for '08 dual mode exhaust (RPO NPP; $1195) which bypasses the muffler for a very aggressive sound. A similar system has been used on the Z06; the difference being that the Z06 used 3 inch pipes and the LS3 uses 2.5 inch pipes.
The manual transmission shifter, which already worked amazingly well, was refined via shorter shifts. Upgrades in the automatic transmission resulted in quicker shifting. Two colors, Jetstream Blue Metallic Tintcoat and Crystal Red Metallic Tintcoat were added and the Le Mans Blue Metallic and Monterey Red Metallic Tintcoat were discontinued.
There were no changes to the Z06 for 2008.
For the 10th time since 1978 a 2008 Corvette C6 convertible paced the Indianapolis 500; a Corvette also had paced the previous four 500s. Emerson Fittipaldi, whose signature was part of the graphics, drive the pace car at the start. Production was limited to 500 - 234 coupes ($59,090.00) and 266 convertibles ($68,160.00).
Starting in 2008, Hertz, as part of their "Fun Collection", offered a special Corvette rental with the "ZHZ" designation. Individual Hertz Rent-A-Car offices set their own rates, but it was generally $200 - $250 a day. 500 coupes and 350 convertibles were built; predictably, all were automatics. There were no engine or suspension upgrades but distinguishing features included a black stripe, exclusive polished wheels, a decal on the console and (right) special ZHZ fender badges. Apparently the program was succesful as it was repeated in 2018 with 100 Z06 coupes - also with automatic transmissions - with similar yellow / black livery.
