HP GT500 vs. Z51 C8 at VIR: MotorTrend/Randy Pobst

[Skwibbs]

Wait til the C8 Z06 comes out let alone the ZR1, the bar will be set with these 2 C8’s under 125k and probably better many above it

That 5.5 flat plane V8 will really help the C8 Z06 as the Stingray just lacks a true heart/soul currently imo and set up more for an old man without a serious track alignment. The 0-60 numbers are for bragging rights and magazines, although it is impressive. They certainly took advantage of the new rear weight. I wonder why most McLaren's that absolutely could do 0-60 faster than a C8 if they really wanted it to, don't. Probably a good reason.

However, the prices are getting up there. I know they will still be punching above their weight, but throw 30k at any car and it'll perform better. Like, imagine a CFTP GT500 with a full aluminum body/chassis/suspension, more carbon composit and a carbon fiber driveshaft, shaving hundreds and hundreds of pounds. It would be incredibly expensive, more so for Ford but the consumer as well. So, what if a 125k-150k Shelby (without markup)?

All that being said, I really hope that widebody they make for the Z06 and others help the look of the car, and for gods sake add larger regular circular exhaust tips, because as the car is now I think it's hideous from 1/3 of the angles you see a car at. If they can do that, and add that exotic engine, properly tune the suspension, and add more feel and feedback through the steering, there you have a damn near perfect car.

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[9secondko]

The Ring is the ultimate test of a sports car in my opinion.

After I said sub 7:10, I realized the viper acr did a 7:01. With the straight line speed of the GT500, it MIGHT be capable of sub 7 minutes. It just blows my mind we're talking about a damn mustang! Similar to how I felt when I first heard of a camaro doing a 7:16.

If you're interested, just watch the ZLE video to imagine how it might go (true violence):


I can imagine similar speeds through the turns with 10 to 30 mph higher in the long straights for the CFTP car.

That is a cool video.

However, there are no such thing as official 'ring times. Manufacturers can do a lot of things to claim the time they want.

Until such time as there is a standardized accounting for Nurburgring times, all the manufacturers claiming amazing times are "cool story bro" status.

There are so many cringe claims - like when Pobst did a "secret run" while the accountability were on a "lunch break" and used the "dashboard timer" to qualify the time - the one that got published and dominated forums.

The Nurburgring is a great tool for manufacturers to dial in their efforts. But there is no way currently to get an "official ring time." so at least for the present, these kinds of things are just cool youtube videos.

 

[9secondko]

That 5.5 flat plane V8 will really help the C8 Z06 as the Stingray just lacks a true heart/soul currently imo and set up more for an old man without a serious track alignment. The 0-60 numbers are for bragging rights and magazines, although it is impressive. They certainly took advantage of the new rear weight. I wonder why most McLaren's that absolutely could do 0-60 faster than a C8 if they really wanted it to, don't. Probably a good reason.

However, the prices are getting up there. I know they will still be punching above their weight, but throw 30k at any car and it'll perform better. Like, imagine a CFTP GT500 with a full aluminum body/chassis/suspension, more carbon composit and a carbon fiber driveshaft, shaving hundreds and hundreds of pounds. It would be incredibly expensive, more so for Ford but the consumer as well. So, what if a 125k-150k Shelby (without markup)?

All that being said, I really hope that widebody they make for the Z06 and others help the look of the car, and for gods sake add larger regular circular exhaust tips, because as the car is now I think it's hideous from 1/3 of the angles you see a car at. If they can do that, and add that exotic engine, properly tune the suspension, and add more feel and feedback through the steering, there you have a damn near perfect car.

Have to agree. Ford went big on developing the Voodoo. GM paid attention, learned what they could and likely, with that starting point, improved on it. The displacement increase for one, is a big deal. It sounds awesome with a natural FPC firing order as well. You can tell the revs pick up insanely quick. going to be something to contend with for sure. Factor in the tiny, lightweight, midengine platform, and it's really impressive. Looking forward to official numbers.

 

[9secondko]

Going in to battle...

... and here are my battle scares after 2 days (damn these heavy cars!)

Texas! Dang I miss TX. And the car looks awesome. Always liked the angular design. Wish they'd never changed the aesthetics. At least they kept the front on the ZL1. While I prefer the previous rear lights, they didn't do too bad with the new setup. the front though...

 

[ZRacerLE]

That is a cool video.

However, there are no such thing as official 'ring times. Manufacturers can do a lot of things to claim the time they want.

Until such time as there is a standardized accounting for Nurburgring times, all the manufacturers claiming amazing times are "cool story bro" status.

There are so many cringe claims - like when Pobst did a "secret run" while the accountability were on a "lunch break" and used the "dashboard timer" to qualify the time - the one that got published and dominated forums.

The Nurburgring is a great tool for manufacturers to dial in their efforts. But there is no way currently to get an "official ring time." so at least for the present, these kinds of things are just cool youtube videos.

I just want to see a video of what's possible with every sports car I'm interested in. Don't care about anything official. A video will show times and speeds that I can compare against other cars. A laptime video is the equivalent to a time slip for drag racing: it's not the fastest the car can possibly go, but it's as fast as the car went.

For example, the fastest video documented lap for a ZLE at VIR was done by some guy in an HPDE (). With that video, I have an idea of where the ZLE stands with the GT500. Neither video of either car at VIR shows the fastest possible lap, but they do show a very fast lap. Now I have a much better idea of how the cars compare or how each car compares to other cars that also have been video recorded. It still doesn't make one car better than the other.

Sometimes, it's just cool to see that your car can hold its own with the other fast cars. It can at least put up a good fight. For me, if there's consistently a large gap, the much faster car becomes a prospective car to upgrade to after I've mastered my current car. This is exactly what I'm doing with the CFTP car. If it's a car that will make me significantly faster (laptimes), then I may be trading up to it next.

 

[ZRacerLE]

Texas! Dang I miss TX. And the car looks awesome. Always liked the angular design. Wish they'd never changed the aesthetics. At least they kept the front on the ZL1. While I prefer the previous rear lights, they didn't do too bad with the new setup. the front though...

Thanks man. The 6th gen ZL1 is the best look so far in my opinion... really helped pull me away from corvette, at least temporarily. The 6th gen mustang is the best looking mustang ever in my opinion. Even better than the first gens.

 

[ZRacerLE]

That 5.5 flat plane V8 will really help the C8 Z06 as the Stingray just lacks a true heart/soul currently imo and set up more for an old man without a serious track alignment. The 0-60 numbers are for bragging rights and magazines, although it is impressive. They certainly took advantage of the new rear weight. I wonder why most McLaren's that absolutely could do 0-60 faster than a C8 if they really wanted it to, don't. Probably a good reason.

However, the prices are getting up there. I know they will still be punching above their weight, but throw 30k at any car and it'll perform better. Like, imagine a CFTP GT500 with a full aluminum body/chassis/suspension, more carbon composit and a carbon fiber driveshaft, shaving hundreds and hundreds of pounds. It would be incredibly expensive, more so for Ford but the consumer as well. So, what if a 125k-150k Shelby (without markup)?

All that being said, I really hope that widebody they make for the Z06 and others help the look of the car, and for gods sake add larger regular circular exhaust tips, because as the car is now I think it's hideous from 1/3 of the angles you see a car at. If they can do that, and add that exotic engine, properly tune the suspension, and add more feel and feedback through the steering, there you have a damn near perfect car.

Until it actually does not happen, I like to dream of things like Ford making a cheaper GT that competes directly with the corvette on performance and price. That arms race would be epic. Just look what the arms race between camaro and mustang has given us: an 800hp+ dodge

 

[Dave2013M3]

Lets be honest here, if this track didn't have long straights the C8 would have won this. These are 2 different cars and very impressive what they did with the GT500 and over 2 tons.

 

[ZRacerLE]

Lets be honest here, if this track didn't have long straights the C8 would have won this. These are 2 different cars and very impressive what they did with the GT500 and over 2 tons.

Yep, C8 is a 911S competitor.

On a similar note, I get my ass handed to me at every autox by miatas and s2000s. There is no car that is great at everything. That's what makes it so fun and interesting.

 

[Dave2013M3]

Yep, C8 is a 911S competitor.

On a similar note, I get my ass handed to me at every autox by miatas and s2000s. There is no car that is great at everything. That's what makes it so fun and interesting.

Agreed 2 different cars. However, if money no issue I'm taking the PCar. I just find the Vette ugly...of course opinions are like arseholes every one has one.

 

[ZRacerLE]

Agreed 2 different cars. However, if money no issue I'm taking the PCar. I just find the Vette ugly...of course opinions are like arseholes every one has one.

The beauty of options!

 

[6String]

Agreed 2 different cars. However, if money no issue I'm taking the PCar. I just find the Vette ugly...of course opinions are like arseholes every one has one.

I don't think the C8 is completely ugly. I was thinking more along the lines of 'awkward'. Too many creases at different angles. I can understand how many people might like the way the C8 looks. However, in my opinion (not worth much), the C7 was a cleaner style, with much more cohesive design language. Like the C8 performance, but not sold on the looks.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I don't think the C8 is completely ugly. I was thinking more along the lines of 'awkward'. Too many creases at different angles. I can understand how many people might like the way the C8 looks. However, in my opinion (not worth much), the C7 was a cleaner style, with much more cohesive design language. Like the C8 performance, but not sold on the looks.

Awkward is a pretty good choice of words: the front-to-rear / top-to-bottom is way out of balance, it needs larger wheels, it's got excessive folds, creases intake, and ducts, etc., clearly some people are fawning over it because it sort of resembles, in very general design concept, many of the vehicles of automotive lust (F-cars, McLaren).

The performance is solid, I think the Z06 is going to be spectacular (assuming the Z51 as the starting performance, another 100+ HP, more RPM, lighter, better suspension tuning, more brakes, learning from the current issues, wow!)

Yeah, in terms of looks, I prefer the C7 (in widebody flavor), heck, I even prefer the C6

 

[Concrete GT]

Shorter track and the C8 wins and longer track favors the long legs of the GT500. I don't dislike the C8 but I'd certainly wait til the ZO6 version comes along due to the wider body as someone else mentioned.
What I'm more interested as a bench racer is how close the CFTP can come to the C8 Z06 with it's weight and front engine disadvantages. Either of them are more car than my driving abilities could ever push to the limit but I'd be happier than a pig in $h!t to take either of them out for my weekend cruise...

 

[ZRacerLE]

Shorter track and the C8 wins and longer track favors the long legs of the GT500. I don't dislike the C8 but I'd certainly wait til the ZO6 version comes along due to the wider body as someone else mentioned.
What I'm more interested as a bench racer is how close the CFTP can come to the C8 Z06 with it's weight and front engine disadvantages. Either of them are more car than my driving abilities could ever push to the limit but I'd be happier than a pig in $h!t to take either of them out for my weekend cruise...

... and you never know, Ford may have a plan for an even higher performing GT500 to compete with the C8Z... like a GT500R.

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