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Originally Posted by JoeD
Are you not taking into consideration that the added cost of the Corvette buys you a car that unequivocally embarrasses the 370Z in any measure of performance?
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How so? Drop an overbloated v8 into a z34 platform and you'll get a car everybit as good as the vette. Except for engine power, the Z is every bit a match for the Vette, if not even better. Braking, cornering, lateral grip, handling, transmission, suspension, wheels, tires, interior, quality, reliability, image, looks, etc.....
Actually even engine wise, the z is far superior to that piece of junk vette. The Z makes 89.7 hp/L of displacement to the vette's 70.6. Also, Z makes 73 lb ft of torque/L of displacement to the vette's 69. Pound for pound, the z is the superior car.
The Z is state of the art. And the vette was awesome around the same time dinosaurs roamed the earth. Think about it. The Z is sold worldwide. The vette, you'll have a hard time finding any outside america.
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Take a look at official Nurburgring lap-times as one indication. A 2007 LS2 Corvette Z51 lapped The Ring in 7:59, tying the 997 Carrera S down the second. Sources also list a 2009 Carrera S as only being 1-second quicker, but mind you, we're comparing an '07 Z51 to an '09 Carrera S. The '08+ Corvette with an LS3 is significantly faster.
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Well, the nurburgring is a very long track that has a lot of long very high speed straights, so it's predictable the v8 powered vette would perform well comparable to the carrera (which I always thought should have had way more power than they actually come with). On a tighter twistier track with slower overall speed, the carrera should be able to outhandle the vette.
If that's not enough, browse through the 2007 Lighting Lap issue of C&D (
The Lightning Lap, 2007 - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver ), where the 2007 Corvette beat the 997 Turbo by 2-seconds around VIR (as well as the Audi R8). Again...this is the older, LS2 Corvette, not the current LS3. If you want to talk about the Z06, that went on to beat the GT3 by over 2-seconds in that test, to boot.
Now I won't put it past you to dismiss this as paper-racing or bench-racing...call it what you will, but results are results. I personally have raced a 2008 Corvette Z51 as well as a Z06 around Infineon Raceway and Thunderhill, as well as HPDEs (non-competitive) at Laguna Seca. Yes, there were Porsches on the track at the same time, so I know what these cars can and can't do. Oh, and feel free to toss the comparisons out because the Corvettes exampled have the $1,600 Z51 option, while you noted "base C6." Either way...your argument is moot.
To summarize, strictly in terms of track-performance: '08+ Z51 > 997 Carrera/S/Turbo...C6 Z06 > GT3...ZR1 > any car on non R-compound street-tires.
Please get your information straight. Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Don't have time to read this article. More on that later. But were all these numbers taken on the same day and time? I noticed it said an 07 audi r8 in the chart, but the article talked about an 08 audi r8. If this is pooled data from different occasions, they are worthless.