EU committee votes to soften 2035 CO2 targets to 87.5% and credit some biofuel cars

What the committee approved

The 87.5% figure is a reduction against the 2021 baseline, and it gives car makers room to sell more combustion-engine models than the original 100% target allowed. The committee also voted in favour of classing "vehicles running exclusively on eligible fuels" (VEEFs), including biofuels, as zero-emission.

Under the changes, manufacturers would have to offset up to 7.5% of their emissions using credits for EU-made low-carbon steel. A projection by the green lobby group T&E estimates car makers could fill half their sales with extended-range EVs without breaching the new rules in 2035.

Super-credits and the unanswered efficiency question

Companies building small EVs up to 4.2 metres long in the EU would qualify for super-credits under which each car sold counts as 1.4 EVs, letting them sell more combustion models. Ultra-efficient EVs above that size would collect credits worth 1.2 sales, again only if made in the EU.

The committee did not announce the efficiency threshold a model must clear to earn the 1.2 credit. Autocar notes it would likely focus on cars achieving above 4.0 miles per kWh, or 15kWh/100km, but that figure has not been confirmed.

The UK is currently negotiating for models built there to qualify under the scheme.

Vans and the wider package

Other concessions voted through include cutting van CO2 by 35% in 2030, against 40% in the original proposal and 50% under existing rules. The 2035 van target would fall from 100% to 80%.

The changes sit inside a wider package aimed at strengthening automotive manufacturing in Europe as it faces cheaper electrified models from more agile Chinese competitors. That package includes accelerating an EU-made battery value chain and reducing legislative burdens.

Industry reaction

ACEA, the body representing car makers, gave the vote a cautious welcome and acknowledged the "pragmatic" approach and extra flexibility. It said more was needed, arguing that for passenger cars the measures remain "too limited in scope and duration to adequately address the industry's concerns". Toyota called it a "welcome step" while also asking for more flexibility.

European car makers have been lobbying for more post-2035 combustion sales because batteries remain costly to bring down, and ICE models are more profitable, even as EV sales have soared across Europe this year on higher petrol and diesel prices.

The softer targets change the maths for buyers: combustion and extended-range models stay viable in showrooms for longer, while the super-credit structure rewards makers who build small or highly efficient EVs inside the EU. Whether the UK's production base is folded into that structure is still being negotiated.

Houston-based tuning shop Late Model Racecraft has fitted a pair of turbochargers to a customer's 2027 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, taking it to 810 rear-wheel horsepower and 588 pound-feet of torque on 93-octane gasoline.

The car had already been modified with naturally aspirated bolt-ons at another shop and was running on E85 when it arrived, baselining at roughly 597 rear-wheel horsepower before LMR began work.

What went into the build

LMR installed Precision mirror-image ball-bearing turbochargers, picked because they are air-to-water units rather than grease-lubricated turbos. Shop owner Steven Fereday says that choice avoids the chore of greasing turbos every 1,500 miles, which keeps the car simple to live with.

An air-to-water intercooling system with a heat exchanger routes coolant to both sides of the engine bay to manage the heat the turbos generate under boost. The downpipes feed a deliberately short exhaust, which Fereday says helps the flat-plane-crank V8 keep its characteristic snarl despite forced induction.

Custom engine and transmission software tuning completes the package. LMR adjusts clutch pressure and shift behaviour so the C8's dual-clutch transmission can cope with the extra torque, which Fereday identifies as the real limiting factor on builds of this size.

Dyno figures and the crank estimate

On LMR's own dyno the finished car made 810 rear-wheel horsepower and 588 pound-feet, a gain of about 213 rear-wheel horsepower over its pre-turbo baseline, with the fuel system switched away from E85 entirely.

LMR puts crank output at around 1,000 horsepower, but that is a calculation rather than a direct engine-dyno measurement. The confirmed figure remains the 810 rear-wheel horsepower reading from the shop's equipment.

For context, Chevrolet rates the factory 2027 Z06's naturally aspirated 5.5-litre V8 at 670 horsepower, with peak power at 8,400 rpm and an 8,600 rpm redline from its flat-plane crank. The tuner's measured rear-wheel number already clears the manufacturer's crank rating, and driveline losses mean the gap at the engine is wider still.

How it drives, and what owners should know

Fereday says the car still behaves like a stock Z06 in Touring mode. Turbo noise is audible under underpasses at a cruise, but there is no drama at part throttle.

He recommends stickier rear tyres for owners planning first- or second-gear acceleration runs, because the factory rubber struggles to put the torque down without spinning.

Tuning can be tailored per customer. LMR can program anything from a loud burble tune that pops on deceleration to the subtle, factory-like behaviour this particular Z06 received.

The pitch to Z06 owners is a 93-octane car that can be driven daily, parked in the garage and driven hard again without special maintenance in between. Twin-turbo work on GM's small-block family is a broader trend, with twin-turbo crate V8 builds chasing similar output without relying on specialised fuels.

Two things a reader might reasonably ask are not addressed in the source material: LMR has not announced a price for the conversion, and no output figure has been quoted for the standard Z06 in rear-wheel terms, so the before-and-after comparison rests on this car's own baseline rather than a factory measurement.