I thought about it, but figured why waste the time. Everyone here knows the ZR1 is much less expensive than any of the others listed.

I created the list not for a price comparison, but to show that there really are quite a few 600+ HP production cars out there.

Latest HOT ROD contains a feature on a '69 Camaro that is mostly ZR1...

From long winded old fart.....

Automobile Magazine ran an article titled "Dragstar" a couple of years ago. One of the writers was driving a Merz SL65 or similar. He was trying to decide what it was... right.. for. So he took it to the drag strip. I THINK it might be found online and it was a hilarious read. Also gave you some respect. Now, as long as you don't care about ... reliability.. and can afford one.. you got a CAR.
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/convertibles/0504_mercedes_benz_sl65_amg/index.html

Not long ago on F-Chat someone told about a visiting driver instructor at one of the F Club track events. After a while he asked one of the guys if it was a joint event with one of the Corvette clubs. He thought it was strictly an F-Car event. He was informed that a LOT of the F-Car guys bought Corvettes as they were SO much more reliable on track. Result: Many more happy F-Car guys enjoying track time instead of trailering their broken F-Cars away. Of course, they still love their F-Cars and enjoy them on the street.

I owned a couple of hot Corvettes when I was young. Fun cars. For over 20 years I have been tempted to try to pry a 65 roadster from a neighbor who once showed it to me in his garage. It is still there covered with blankets and the engine still sitting nearby. I like a lot of things about the later Corvettes. I don't know if they are as cramped as the 80-90s cars but they were too small back then. Finally they have decent interiors [optional] and seemingly no longer creak and groan. A LOT of car for the money. I still like 'em - just don't own 'em.

I happened upon a letter to the editor in the new C&D. Guy wanted to know.. for real.. which was faster on the 'Ring: The newish GT2 or the new Nissan GT-R. He was gonna buy the fastest one if they could just tell him. The question really is... do we really care? Will this guy if he gets it? Did you watch the silly test Nissan GT-R vs Bullet Train on Top Gear? Jermey found the GT-R to be strangely uninvolving on the street. Even at.. gasp.. illegal speeds. Didn't like it that much. In a later show they put one on their airport-track and he loved it. BUT where are you gonna use these cars? Lots of times having a modestly powerful but SPIRITED sports car is a LOT more fun than driving somethng you simply cannot use on most public roads.

Last..old guys. I too am in that club. I have begun to realize that age tends to make you .. kinda.. crusty. Maybe..... really.. crusty. Not just me. Not just Paul. Not just my brother. LOTS of guys with more wrinkles than hair [well, hair where we might still like to have it]... You work like H all your life and play by most of the rules and you usually are quite controlled.. or restricted. Finally you don't HAVE to be nice to the ****heads. You don't have to ignore the insults. You don't have to hold you tongue and act proper. You can be an ASS if you like. People don't like what you say? OR simply don't understand that you are saying it tounge-in-cheek.. SO WHAT? Screw them!!! THAT, my friends is one of the few advantages of still breathing. It DOES beat being dead.... I mean, think about it.. young woman don't check you out anymore... young guys see you in your Super Porsche and think "What is THAT old fart doing in a neat car like that?!". You are essentially worthless with people waiting for you to die and hoping that they are on your short list as they look at your cars and "neat stuff". The only thing going for us "old-uns" is that we can sleep in as much as we want, screw off all day if we want, eat what we want and "screw 'Dr's advice' ", eyeball the female young-uns without having to think of clever lines to add, and ....well, just pee all over ourselves in our newfound and sometimes delightful saltiness. So, you think... "I won't be like that. I will be mellow.. and profound." Yea. Right. Just you wait. And remember.. it beats the hell outta dying.

Long live Corvettes. Thank GOD for Corvettes. Vipers are barely real cars and they are probably going the way of the eco-systems. Don't forget, Zora Duntov was a Factory driver for Porsche at Le Mans. Yes, really.. and that was when he was at GM. BTW, he HELPED Porsche by engineering some badly needed better handling in the Porsches of the day. They were clueless. [I have thought about doing a write up of "Porsche Engineering Travesties", but realized it would end up being a book. Just a start: How about when Porsche decided with all their engineering prowess, that they needed to figure out how to make the 906 handle. They went to a F1 race. They walked around the grid and looked at a bunch of the F1 cars. They ended up bying the complete suspension off of one of Colin Chapman's Lotus F1 cars. Right there at the track. Chapman was besides himself with glee. He knew how to turn a dollar when he saw the opportunity and the price they paid for that suspension exceeded anything he was gonna make racing that F1 car. BUT, with all the glory you have read about Porsche engineering... wouldn't you think they might have done it themselves? Kinda like when Duntov helped them out.. For free, as I recall. He was a real God. Of course, he knew it as much as anyone. But he was. God love Corvettes.


Speaking for the old-uns, if you don't like it.. well, piss on ya.
[I would insert one of those silly smiley faces here but it is TOO much effort to figure this stuff out and it's kinda more fun to be ...pissy. So.. :-> is the best you will get outta me.]
John Rice

John, this fellow "crusty old bastard" salutes you! You really should give thought to writing professionally.

What do you say we swap cars for a couple of weeks...you could use my Bullitt Mustang, I drive your GT2? (Just kidding)

I think you just gave a few young punks a history lesson...

John,

I don't know you but I like the way you think. I will be an old fart, for sure so I appreciate you giving me some idea on what to expect.SmileWavy

Funny how they put the Red Porsche Turbo riding ***** behind the ZR towards the end of that video?

Thanks John. Good writeup.

Paul, I sincerely hope you don't think I'm some young punk. Far from it. I am a middle aged guy who tries hard to NOT be an ass. Happy-go-lucky is what most people who know me would call me.

So, am I too young to act like a cranky old fart, or do I still have to behave myself? :p

I respect the speed that the new Corvette is capable of. It is a blazingly fast sports car, even if you ignore the comparatively affordable price. I just don't really like the styling, personally. I'm sure it would be a blast to drive though.

Young and old all depends on your viewpoint, I guess. Yep, you're still flying commercially...that, by having the license, makes you a "young punk"...;)
But hang in, you fly carefully...and you might make "crusty old fart" status yet!

John sure has a knack for writing that gives food for thought, doesn't he? Probably why I value our emails so...

New Corvettes are OK, I don't mind the styling but they just don't inspire the lust to own that some cars do. I've always wanted a Nautilus Blue '65 Stingray convertible w/ 327 fuel injection and 4-speed. (327/375hp). I mean seriously. If I was rich, it would be in my garage.

Not many new cars hit me in that emotional, non-rational place. It doesn't matter if they have 900hp and do 0-60 in .5 seconds. I don't give a schit. The new Porsche that I would buy is not the fastest one, it's the best all-around driver. (IMO). And I like the looks and way that it's put together+ the engineering. It's also pretty fast.

To each their own...

Just ran across this on YouTube:



<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vD9AW-EB3vo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vD9AW-EB3vo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

Oh, I saw 3 more ZR1's Friday around the GM proving grounds and the new cadillac cts wagon.

Interesting how they always compare a Porsche to most other cars as a straight line drag race?
Corvette can own the next red light, get it on a track and lets see!

It would be pretty close on the track (GT2 vs ZR1)
Wouldn't you think?

I'm glad to see that most users on here "get" the ZR1. Its simply one of the best performance cars in the market today. I'm always amazed by the number of guys who claim to be "car guys" but really are just brand snobs, only able to appreciate one brand. To me, if you are a car guy, you appreciate great cars, regardless of the badge on the nose.

+1000. same thing applies to racing. if you're a true racing fan, you can appreciate (not necessarily love) all forms of racing. drives me nuts when "F1 fans" knock on nascar, indy car, et al.

I'm definitely not a "one brand" car guy. I've gotten tons of schit for liking Fords and Chevys + the occasional Mopar back in the muscle car days. I've come to appreciate Porsches for their actual track performance as well as toughness over the years. The 200k mile 996 I just drove for 2 years made me a fan of their newer cars. I can't even imagine what an abused, 200k 10 year old 'vette would be like. The interior would look like a family of racoons lived in it.

To say that they are equal cars, (or that the 'vette is better), because they came out with a special model with insane performance doesn't wash with me. Remember, even the biggest POS car on earth smells good on the showroom floor. Test them when they're 5 or 10 years old against each other.

At any rate, the only legit performance test for cars like this is to go to the 'ring w/ a couple world class racers and see which is faster. 0-60 is meaningless in the real world of racing.

Interesting, in that video the Corvette's speedo was just hitting 200 when he was actually doing in the 170's. Are their speedo's that optimistic?

will this be a tube frame covered in vette glass or a Corvette? in either case the informed racing fan knows that rules are there to even out the competition and increase viewership so.....race results don't mean dick. it is a source of pride however that Porsche races road cars. Not even Ferrari did much of that in their glory days.

i think the latest vettes are very good looking cars (can't say the same for some recent F cars such as the 599) and would love to take a drive in one but damn why can't they get an interior that looks better than a first gen boxster? maybe if somebody over there would just sit in a GT3RS for a minute they'd get it.

The solution is obvious...buy both if you wish.

I've seen so many 200k American cars it's not even funny.

They grow on trees.