[WestRace]

Originally Posted by The HACK

The only thing I have an irrational love for is the BMW MZ4 Coupe.

That's interesting because the Grand Sport is a much faster car :-)

Originally Posted by The HACK

this move to mid engine seems to primarily benefit the straight-line performance, not the twisty stuff as we're all promised.

I would disagree with this. Once they have the suspension tuning all sorted out, it will be a lot better than the C7 version. Just like when the current Mustang came out, it was all over the place. Now people all going dooh daaah over the GT350R but it's basically the same car fundamentally.

Originally Posted by The HACK

At this point there's nothing in the C8 that will make me want to eat 1.5 years of depreciation though, besides it's the newest and shiniest object in the automotive industry.

My feeling all along has been that the C8 is basically a Corvette albeit with the engine in the middle. People who are putting deposits right now expecting a $60K 911 or R8 or McLaren will be very disappointed. But if you keep your perspectives in check, for $60 (with options up to $80K), it's not bad.

Based on the Farah's vid, the folks at RT pretty much commented that after all the initial Corvette mid engine novelties worn off, they all came back down to earth.

[Alfisti]

C7 looks better too

[hellrotm]

C7 1:27.0
C8 1:26.1

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...y-the-numbers/

[See5]

Originally Posted by The HACK

At the expense of entry and mid corner handling.

No doubt. But there aren’t many cars if any that are as good as the C7 in that category, especially MR/RR cars. That’s what made the C5-7 so quick. You had later C7’s approaching 1.2g on the skidpad which is better than anything I can think of outside the lastest GT2/3’s on Cup 2R’s.

Going to this layout has its advantages and disadvantages and I’ll maintain that handling was not the main point of this exercise. Putting down 600-800hp without traction issues and furthering the Corvette’s ability to run with competition 2-4x its price will be much easier this go around.

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by WestRace

My feeling all along has been that the C8 is basically a Corvette albeit with the engine in the middle. People who are putting deposits right now expecting a $60K 911 or R8 or McLaren will be very disappointed. But if you keep your perspectives in check, for $60 (with options up to $80K), it's not bad.

Based on the Farah's vid, the folks at RT pretty much commented that after all the initial Corvette mid engine novelties worn off, they all came back down to earth.

yeah i agree. people are just salivating at the latest new shiny object. Same thing with the supra, dodge demon, gt350r. Then the initial reviews hit and everyone comes back down to earth. Its still gonna feel and smell like a corvette.

i still find it interesting that the 6600 rpm redline feels low to farah. it is the lowest revving mid or rear engine car on sale apparently though. maybe its the gear ratios. i didn't notice any issues with a short redline when i drove a viper.

[See5]

C8 Corvette vs 992

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...n-test-review/

[GTF]

I was never a fan of the Corvette, but always appreciated the performance / value quotient. Considering GM was working on this mid-engine Corvette for years (decades?), I think the styling ended up mediocre at best. The rear looks like it was designed by a committee. Apparently starting with a clean sheet, the design could have been "timeless" as were the early Corvettes (or the 911, or the Ford GT).
They did address the interior, which I think was more effective than the exterior...IMO.

[Towerworld]

Really disappointed with the track driving characteristics, hopefully they fix the suspension and wire brake tuning as this is still a pre-production model.

[Obioban]

Originally Posted by See5

C8 Corvette vs 992

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...n-test-review/

The interior seems to be pretty universally agreed to be fixed (finally).

It's not just impacts, either. The Corvette allows far less engine and road noise into the cabin than the 911. There's more noise from those big tires, especially the front ones right next to your feet, but you can have a whispered conversation at 80 mph in the Corvette. You'll have to speak up a little in the Porsche.

It's just one of the ways in which the Corvette's cabin is nicer than the 911's, a sentence we feared we'd never get to write. The Corvette's notoriously cheap materials, gaping panel gaps, and persistent smell of glue have all been banished—and this was in an early-build car, no less.

The previous Corvette generation showed us Chevrolet could afford to give the car both performance and a nice interior, but the C8 has skipped straight past nice and into proper supercar territory. The leather is the best we've seen and felt in a Corvette by a wide margin, there's no cheap-looking hard plastic anywhere (well … the cupholders are a bit of a wince), and the seats (midgrade GT2s, in this case) strike a balance between comfort and lateral support that even some supercar builders don't get right.

Granted, our Corvette was a top-shelf 3LT trim level with the best interior you can yet buy for the car, but you can do that when the as-tested price is a Silverado less than the 911—which had zero interior dress-up options, at that. Sure, Porsche will wrap the air vent blades in leather if you put enough zeroes on the check, but out of the box, it's a stark field of dark grays and blacks all finished in varying grades of plastic and piano black. Our Carrera didn't even have power seats.

We also found the Corvette's controls more intuitively laid out—even that long strip of Chiclet buttons down the center console—though we did appreciate the Porsche's programmable hot keys on the dash and steering wheel. Similarly, the Corvette's infotainment system is less cluttered and layered, and it's easier to read at a glance and operate while the car is in motion.

The Corvette's highly customizable digital dash and the bits of theater provided by the transitions between screens won many points over the 911's pair of screens—which flank the analog tachometer and are absurdly obscured by the steering wheel. The Corvette's squircle steering wheel might take a little getting used to, but it affords a clear view of all the information on the instrument cluster.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by See5

C8 Corvette vs 992

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...n-test-review/

Gee price aside i'd take the 911 all day. Not because performance understeer or any of that rubbish but it looks so clean, so sleek and those nice big hips. The vette is a mess to the eye.

TBH, I know I will win no friends with this comment, I don't get the need for all this low rev torque on a sports car. If it's a track car, i get it,if it's a daily driver grocery getter i get it as it makes DDing easier but dear me, sportscar?? I want revs, and a little theatre, torque just robs you of that on the street when hustling something nimble.

Can honestly say I'd take 991.1 GTS with the 430HP NA engine over anything else for the road right now.

[hellrotm]

Keep seeing term brake-by-wire thrown around. The C8 does not have brake-by-wire. It is still hydraulic brakes with a brake booster, but with a electric boost vs vacuum. Meaning whatever is being felt(pedal feel) now in the pre-production models can be altered. Really these articles should start calling it drive-by-wire.

[Alfisti]

Right but the Miata is gutless, there's a tipping point that I think the NA 997.2 and 991.1 engines nailed perfectly.

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by See5

No doubt. But there aren’t many cars if any that are as good as the C7 in that category, especially MR/RR cars. That’s what made the C5-7 so quick. You had later C7’s approaching 1.2g on the skidpad which is better than anything I can think of outside the lastest GT2/3’s on Cup 2R’s.

Going to this layout has its advantages and disadvantages and I’ll maintain that handling was not the main point of this exercise. Putting down 600-800hp without traction issues and furthering the Corvette’s ability to run with competition 2-4x its price will be much easier this go around.

The C8 platform will mature. I have zero doubts there is loads of performance yet to untapped. They are saving it for future models. Mid corner understeer can easily be remedied. I personally think they put that in the base car for a reason, safety. They don't want everyone pulling a Mustang out of every cars and coffee once first batches are delivered.

[WestRace]

Here is the main difference between the 911S and the C8. You enjoy the 911 S all the time - on the track or going for grocery trips due to its race car inspire construction. You only get to enjoy the C8 when you're 10/10 on the track because its uncommunicative and less then inspired chassis. They say the C8 rides like a Rolls Royce but that's also its downfall since that's exactly how it feels just mowing around town while the 911S is orgasm induced just sitting in the garage :-)

[RM7]

Originally Posted by WestRace

Here is the main difference between the 911S and the C8. You enjoy the 911 S all the time - on the track or going for grocery trips due to its race car inspire construction. You only get to enjoy the C8 when you're 10/10 on the track because its uncommunicative and less then inspired chassis. They say the C8 rides like a Rolls Royce but that's also its downfall since that's exactly how it feels just mowing around town while the 911S is orgasm induced just sitting in the garage :-)

And how many times have you driven the C8?

[See5]

Originally Posted by WestRace

Here is the main difference between the 911S and the C8. You enjoy the 911 S all the time - on the track or going for grocery trips due to its race car inspire construction. You only get to enjoy the C8 when you're 10/10 on the track because its uncommunicative and less then inspired chassis. They say the C8 rides like a Rolls Royce but that's also its downfall since that's exactly how it feels just mowing around town while the 911S is orgasm induced just sitting in the garage :-)

That’s not what they said.

[WestRace]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

And how many times have you driven the C8?

OK, you got me. I extrapolated based on my experience with the C7 and by reading between the lines from various reviews so far.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by WestRace

OK, you got me. I extrapolated based on my experience with the C7 and by reading between the lines from various reviews so far.

And a blind hatred of Corvettes mixed with a similar love of all things Porsche. We got the message.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by WestRace

Here is the main difference between the 911S and the C8. You enjoy the 911 S all the time - on the track or going for grocery trips due to its race car inspire construction. You only get to enjoy the C8 when you're 10/10 on the track because its uncommunicative and less then inspired chassis. They say the C8 rides like a Rolls Royce but that's also its downfall since that's exactly how it feels just mowing around town while the 911S is orgasm induced just sitting in the garage :-)

I would assume the reverse, that the C8 is more enjoyable to drive on the street, where as it falls short on track at 10/10th due to its uncommunicative steering and brakes.

Personally, and this is just an observation, if track performance is low on the priority totem pole, the C8 is a much better overall car than the 992 once you factor in price/value. That they've come far enough to be able to compete head to head on quality and material against the best that ze Germans have to offer is quite an accomplishment, and for the vast bulk of the buyers, that may well be enough to sway.

For those that really value the last bit of performance PLUS refinement though, that's where cars like the 911 shine. You DO get what you paid for in that the 911 is more involved to drive because it does make you one with the car, where as the Corvette makes you one IN the car.

And that's somewhat true with my C7 as well. Dollar per performance, it's an insane value. And while the interior build quality and material is on par with my MZ4 Coupe, I can't help but look a the 13 year old Moupe and smile...It is a better car because it is so engaging to drive. Not that it is engaging because it is harder to drive, but the visceral response of the inline 6 with 8,000 revs per minute, the individual throttle bodies, the way it subtly tells you what each contact patch is doing, while doing what you tell it to do without jumping in and saying "nah, I got this..."

But on paper, the C7 Grand Sport is so far out of the league it's not even funny.

I WILL say this though. If my experience with GM and Chevy is any indication, the C8 may be great on paper, but most of that beauty is skin deep. Live with it for a week, a month, a year, and you start to question why GM does things a certain way, and understand why they were able to make the Chevy Bolt EV for $38,000 and mass produce it so much earlier than Tesla can with their Model 3. They cut a lot of corners in actual engineering, development, and material, and while it doesn't show up right away, you notice it eventually.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR.

[supra93]

[See5]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

And a blind hatred of Corvettes mixed with a similar love of all things Porsche. We got the message.

Ding ding ding. Regardless, the level of refinement and performance bandwidth the C8 brings to the table at its price level seems to be unmatched.

Will be interesting to see it in bigger group tests going forward.

Hell, this production delay might allow them to make some tweaks before the actual customer cars hit the lot.

[WestRace]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

And a blind hatred of Corvettes mixed with a similar love of all things Porsche. We got the message.

vs. blind love, blind loyalty, blind submission? Why take it so seriously. I certainly didn't :-)