OT - New C8 Corvette reveal

[FredC]

Quote"I don't think anything in the 60's did such a 0-60"

I can't remember ever doing a 0 to 60 test. The fellow that I bought the parts from had wheelie bars on his with the identical engine. It was not meant to driven on the street. They did have mufflers from the factory and 3 inch head pipes and dumps when you got to the strip. Factory race car. I think the classes they ran in were B-SA through D-SA (stock automatic).
The drill was to hold the throttle open (with 2000RPM stall convertors)with the brakes set and floor it and release the brakes to go.
There were other makes of cars in that class so they probably had similar engines.
Nothing like today's muscle and super cars.

 

[crazygoat]

Whew! There for a second I thought it was going to be electric.

 

[Milland]

Whew! There for a second I thought it was going to be electric.

It's likely that the ZR-1 equivalent will have a ~200hp front electric motor, and around 800hp from the (turbo) V8. So hybrid at the top end.

 

[CarbideBob]

Not too shabby for an old washed up and bankrupt car company run by a bunch of bean counters with low skilled and overpaid workers who don't care about quality.
(these facts must be true, I read them on the internet... as a 80+ year old GM family and long term supplier note some sarcasm here)

... Not exactly a sports car.

It may not be a world killing supercar but I'd think it a sports car.
Maybe it will run circles on long, short, and even parking lot tracks over most of the classic sports cars and with a dial up comfort cruise for that 1200 mile tour.
I would think it the definition of a modern sports car.
An older Lotus, Ferrari or what ever while I love them simply does not drive anything like this and are finicky to say the least.
Yes there were a lot of years of "poopy" and bad mannered vettes but this past should not discolor the new car.
This is not a quarter or half million dollar car but can hold it's own.
I give a shit about looks and styling, drive one hard and deep before you judge it.
I'd call it exciting, well behaved and at the same time a smooth day cruiser. Hard to do in a "sports" car.
Could it be that GM is not filled with brain dead idiots?
Bob
(life begins at 150)

 

[Bill in PA]

20 year old truck here also, so its not a rocket ship.. But compared to a pickup from
the mid to late 70's and early 80's, it is a rocket ship. And considering how much
a new truck costs, I'm going to drive that sucker for a long long long time.. I even
have a spare motor and tranny sitting here for when *that* day eventually comes.

20 years old? Not even broke in. I still haul with this:



Bill

 

[moonlight machine]

It is amazing that it costs 60,000.00 base price. Well not really the C7 used nearly all the same technology, sure the layout was different but they still used the same materials and assembly techniques and the general made 24,000 per car off a base price of 56,000.00

 

[Milland]

It is amazing that it costs 60,000.00 base price. Well not really the C7 used nearly all the same technology, sure the layout was different but they still used the same materials and assembly techniques and the general made 24,000 per car off a base price of 56,000.00

Tons of new engineering work, new engine and transaxle, chassis development, etc. - I'm astonished at the low base price. I think the trans is a Tremec, that's got to cost the General ~$4k each in quantity alone, yes? More?

[I can't find confirmation of the transaxle manufacturer]

 

[CarbideBob]

.....the general made 24,000 per car off a base price of 56,000.00

Where does that profit number come from?
It does not seem quite right. The vette is not the leader anymore as it once was, trucks are.
Is this an average dollar calculation?
Show me the (money) data. I can not buy into this and hate to see such posted on the net.
Build cost alone or field support, warranty, parts stock, dealer support and all that add on?
Bob

 

[kustomizingkid]

There is nothing that inherently makes a mid engine sports car expensive... the cost of a ferrari is no idication of the cost to mass produce a pushrod (lols) V8 mid engine sports car or GT car or whatever the fuck you want to call it.

 

[ewlsey]

There is nothing that inherently makes a mid engine sports car expensive...

Well to be fair, the last time GM tried putting the engine somewhere besides the front it was "unsafe at any speed". That certainly cost them...

 

[Milland]

Well to be fair, the last time GM tried putting the engine somewhere besides the front it was "unsafe at any speed". That certainly cost them...

I tell ya', the Fiero gets no respect, no respect at all. Why, they even forget it and just go right to the Corvair.

And heck, even the Corvair wasn't that bad, as long as you drove it like a Porsche...

[GM should have instructed their salesmen on the perils of lift throttle oversteer]

 

[Milland]

There is nothing that inherently makes a mid engine sports car expensive... the cost of a ferrari is no idication of the cost to mass produce a pushrod (lols) V8 mid engine sports car or GT car or whatever the fuck you want to call it.

Eh, I'd go with less "institutional knowledge" (for a mass produced vehicle company), cooling and accesories packaging issues, and revised vehicle dynamics requirements for why they're more expensive. It's not huge, but I bet the changeover from C7 to C8 cost more than twice what the C6 to C7 did. And I think that's conservative.

 

[moonlight machine]

Where does that profit number come from?
It does not seem quite right. The vette is not the leader anymore as it once was, trucks are.
Is this an average dollar calculation?
Show me the (money) data. I can not buy into this and hate to see such posted on the net.
Build cost alone or field support, warranty, parts stock, dealer support and all that add on?
Bob

Off a press release from the General. It's on Autoracing 1 along with a lot of other propaganda and a mess of videos. one tells how the dual clutch Tremec 8 speed works. slick as hell, one clutch for 1,3,5,7 the other one for 2,4,6,8. it switches between the clutches as it shifts instintanly, no lag between shifts.

 

[moonlight machine]

It is available in both left and right hand drive so limey can just order one! They must be planning on selling a butt load of them as they added a shift at the plant in Bowling Green Ky.

 

[Milland]

It is available in both left and right hand drive so limey can just order one! They must be planning on selling a butt load of them as they added a shift at the plant in Bowling Green Ky.

The only thing that could stop this car is a spike in oil prices. Good thing we're not going to war with Iran.

Oh, wait...

 

[GregSY]

It's a great value. It's also a terrible design in terms of styling. It looks like those mooks at Caddy who make those gawky Cadillacs got a hole of a Camaro and that's what popped out.

Look at a Ferrari. Stunning design, simple lines, clean. Now look at a C8 or a C7....millions of lines, scoops, flaps, grilles, and bric brac that does nothing and goes nowhere. Plus...a single row of 20 buttons on the console? Yuck.

 

[Milland]

It's a great value. It's also a terrible design in terms of styling. It looks like those mooks at Caddy who make those gawky Cadillacs got a hole of a Camaro and that's what popped out.

Look at a Ferrari. Stunning design, simple lines, clean. Now look at a C8 or a C7....millions of lines, scoops, flaps, grilles, and bric brac that does nothing and goes nowhere. Plus...a single row of 20 buttons on the console? Yuck.

Pretty much in agreement with you on this. For that row of buttons, I wonder if the strut they're on is structural, and they said "now, how can we justify this big-ass bar dividing the driver and passenger?". Given that there's been rumors of frame twisting issues, it's at least plausible.

And yeah, I regret the Transformers ethos of the C7, C8, and last few Camaros. I like the simpler lines of the lower level Mustangs and the GT350, but maybe the designers are trying to attract a younger crowd. I'd expect that's pushing a lot of the new looks.

But if there's no deal-breakers with how the C8 actually performs, I could live with the body styling. With a few options and improved cooling, even the base engine would give you a tremendous track day toy.

 

[EmGo]

It may not be a world killing supercar but I'd think it a sports car.
Maybe it will run circles on long, short, and even parking lot tracks over most of the classic sports cars and with a dial up comfort cruise for that 1200 mile tour.

That, for me, is the problem with calling it a sports car. Even the E-type was too heavy and long to really be a sports car - and it weighed 2500 lbs.

A sports car should be nimble. If you insist on reliable an early MR2, Miata, Alfa would count. But the ultimate would be a Caterham Seven, I guess. Or a Morgan

This Corvette is like calling a McLaren 8D a "sports car" ...

 

[Milland]

By modern convention, the C8 is a Supercar, along with similar vehicles like the Huracan, the R8, higher tier 911's, etc.

But the reality is there's almost no "1960's" level sports cars anymore, even the MX-5 and the cheaper Loti are comparatively heavy. They'll also give you a chance of walking away from a crash with a SUV, whereas if you were driving your TR5 they'd be notifying your next of kin.

 

[EmGo]

They'll also give you a chance of walking away from a crash with a SUV, whereas if you were driving your TR5 they'd be notifying your next of kin.

That's why I don't crash into SUV's