Jsut drove the ZO6...
 

Just drove the new Corvette ZO6 at VIR. At $64,800, it's cheaper than the least expensive 911 and at a proven 198 mph, it's faster than the most expensive 911 (and quicker, I believe,but who's counting hundredths of a second?). If I had all the money in the world, I'd still buy a 911 for the refinement, sophistication, luxury...okay, and the cachet. Otherwise, the ZO6 is the biggest no-brainer in supercar history.

Stephan

How tall are you?
I'm 6'2" and i checked them out. I hit my head getting in, getting out, and sitting normally. Nope, vettes aint for me until they start making them in men's sizes.

So at 5'8" I must not be a man

Corvette's are great until they get a few miles on them. That's when the Union labor craftsmanship starts to show.

I felt the same way in my old 928. I'm just over 6'1 and I didn't fit. With a helmet on, I couldn't even sit up straight in the seat. I know a guy about my height that had his Z06 sectioned like a regular Vette so that the roof was removeable, just so he could autocross it. His helmet wouldn't clear either.

Get an old BB 67 vert and watch the appreciation and enjoy the ride. Very different then a 911, raw car as opposed to machine.

Best regards,
Gerry

I'd love to have a silver 67 Vette with the 427 and side pipes, 4spd., coupe, etc. Always a dream of mine. Black stinger and some period magnesium wheels. Wouldn't even have to be original, sort of a ratty bad-ass driver would be perfect. I remember my dad, who died a few years back, telling me that the big block Vettes would literally rattle windows at the burger stands. He was a product of the sixties car culture, and owned both a '62 and a '65 roadster. But I always wanted a '67 coupe.

I just dropped a 540CI/695 HP shafiroff ultrastreet motor and a 5 spd keisler trans in my 67 rdstr. It was all original but with the prices for these cars nowadays ai thought it prudent to shelve the original stuff as I put about 20K miles /yesr on this car. I get it back from Stahl Headers tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.

Best regards,
Gerry

PS it sets off all car alarms within 50 feet and it sounds like GOD talking to you, nothing in the world like it, very raw.

Would you start a thread in the OT forum about your '67? I'd love to hear more.

I had Stahl headers on my BMW 2002!

But, you're probably just about the right age for a change in attitude about what other people enjoy.

ROFLMAO. That's awesome. Thanks for the laugh Dave.

I went for a ride in my friends new '06 Corvette convertible. Wicked fast.
At 5'10" I fit fine.
Keyless ignition, Heads up display, built in G meter, adjustable suspension, great brakes to go with quickness.
Faster than all our Porsches at the local track, except for a dedicated race car.
Truly impressive.
Some heating issues and of course long term reliabilty remain.
Of course all the new Porsches are perfect.
This new Corvette is World Class, get used to it.

Absolutely, check OT after Carlisle, perhaps Monday. No mullet or toupee but that was FUNNY.

Drive it like you stole it,
Gerry

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1124856204.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1124856273.jpg

PS pic is motor and Jere Stahl and me, sorry for nonporsche thread will move to OT

Thanks for the early insight. I'd have to agree on the supercar performance and bang-for-the buck!

I know a guy around here who has one on order - he paid $20K over sticker to have the first in town (and his won't arrive until November).

Stephan,

Have I been under a rock? I thought the C6 Z06 was due out next year. You got to get in and drive one??

Edward

Saw one here a couple days ago; a brand new '05 with 20 miles on it. I didn't drive it or ride in it.

Thing doesn't make much noise at idle, kinda sounded like a Camry. Too much gadgetry inside for me; 'course, I haven't been in a new 911 for awhile either... Keyless ignition; big deal, what's the point? I also don't like the head up display either. Worthless and obscuring the view if you ask me. Seats were only OK too. Good access in the engine room though, although I'm not sure what you could do in there.

The guy who bought it had to pay $10K over MSRP for dealer gouging as well. Body design is probably the cleanest of the newer Vettes that I've seen in awhile. My .02...

ianc

I've been transporting Vettes for GM for almost 12 years now, both their lease returns and "special event" vehicles so I have lots of seat time. Most of the lease returns have between 20-50K on them. They use to be a bucket of bolts after 20K, but every year they have definitely improved. Performance wise they are very easy to drive and their speed and handling are impressive. It's no wonder they've won four consecutive le mans manufacturer's championships.

By far a contender for post of the year. :D

Your settin' yourself up by posting your picture Gerry.
SoCal911SC is gonna photoshop it and add a big gold chain, sunglasses, and black out a couple of your teeth.

Let me clarify my previous post so as not to offend anyone who isn't of the same physical stature:
The new corvette was not designed for "people" who are in excess of 6' tall. Many men are over 6' tall but few women are that tall.
Therefore, they did not design the car for all men or even most men to be able to drive it, but most women will fit in it. When they redesign the car so that most men will fit in it instead of just most women, I would consider buying one.
I sincerely hope that will unbunch the panties. Oops, there I go again. I meant to say, i hope that will unbunch the non-gender specific underwear. ;)

Interesting...I'm 5'11" but shared the car with a guy who is 6'2" and he didn't have the slightest problem either driving or riding as a passenger. Granted, he is in excellent shape, a serious bicyclist. (He does happen to be the engineer who designed the interior, which makes me wonder if he ever would have engineered it to fit people two inches smaller than he is...)

Stephan

Long legs = fit.
Long torso = no fit.

Yes, but legs and torso proportionate to a 6'2" body fit just fine, so I don't buy the "tall people don't fit" argument. "People with big bodies and short legs" apparently don't, but they're too funny-looking to drive a nice car anyway...

Stephan

I'm glad we finally got this straightened out.
I'm 6'2" and funny looking and I don't fit in a corvette and won't buy one and my 911SC is too nice of a car for me even though I fit in it just fine. Thank you Stephan.

I appreciate the fact that the Corvette Z06's have tremendous performance. They are very capable machines. For me personally, however, I can't stand the front engine, long, LONG, hood, sitting on the rear axle feel I get when I sit in Corvettes. I could never feel comfortable or enthusiastic about driving a car like that.

Kudos to Chevrolet, but I have always prefered small, light, mid or rear engined sports cars that make power using minimal Cubic Inches. Give me a Porsche, Lotus, Ferrari, Renault A110 Alpine, or even an Abarth 500 any day.

Mike

You may never see. Didn't fans rebel when they proposed a mid engined Corvette? Kind of went like the 911 replacement.

Not at all. That car was the Fiero. And they sold like hotcakes. The problem was Pontiac was up to some well-publicized skunk works later in the Fiero's life, like twin-turbo Quad 4 engines, supercharged 2.6 and 3.0 V6s, and even a V8 Fiero, and at one time, had some mules.

Well, the mules were destroying the Corvette on the track, so GM brass took matters into hand and killed the Fiero.

That's corporate stuff, though. Fans. Who listens to fans?

Sounds like what happened with 944 Turbos, 968s and 914-6s vs. whatever 911 variant that was out at the time.

Did you see these?http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/lol2.gif

http://www.bestwigoutlet.com/search.asp?si=**&sp=mullet&OVRAW=mullet%20wigs&OVK EY=mullet%20wig&OVMTC=standard

I'd love a 67, only issue is that a big block 67 is already priced in the ozone layer. Even though they may go higher, they probably won’t appreciate at the rate they did over the last 5 years. It’s a huge outlay for that kind of car and then you have to be careful driving them. The 67 is so coveted because it’s the last year of that classic style.

One other note, since Pro Team Corvette came on the scene a while back their buyers show up at every auction and they drive the price for all the older vettes higher since between them and a handful of others they control a big slice of the market.

Oh, I am also 6’3”and don’t own any gold chains, so that rules out a C6

If he does then he has too much time on his hands. He is always welcome to come over and I will put him to work:D

Best regards,
Gerry

This is too true, proteam and all the big name dealers bought up all the midyear BBs especially the 67. The dealers and Barrett Jackson ruined the hobby and now nobody can afford them. That's why I did the conversion. Now I can keep driving the pee out of it and if something breaks I fix it (it goes like stink). I put about 20K miles/year on it and about 15K on the 911. Cars are made to be driven. Best line I ever heard was "Drive it like you stole it" .

Best regards,
Gerry

I wish I still had hair:(

Gerry

Well, mullet or not, I took some good looks at the Z06 and the regular Corvette online today. I have to say I've changed my mind about it: I'm starting to like it.

Would I buy one? Sure. But not brand new. $20K and I'd be interested enough to strip the car out and make a lightweight monster of it.

Regardless of what hairstyle you have, it's hard to argue w/500 hp, <8.0 for 0-100 and <4.0 for 0-60. All for a lot cheaper than any new Porsche (Boxter excluded).

The reviews:

http://automobilemag.com/reviews/coupes/0502_chevrolet_corvette_z06/index1.html

http://automobilemag.com/reviews/coupes/0412_corvette_911/index1.html


* Average height for males 30-39 is 69.5 inches, or about 5'10" (View PDF: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/04news/americans.htm)

So it seems that the majority of the US male population would comfotably fit into a Corvette - but maybe not w/a helmet. (Come on, someone reply "real men don't wear helmets"). Perhaps the mullet offers some protection to the cranium.

Also, for your entertainment:

http://www.ratemymullet.com/?page=top

Guys get over it. The Corvette is fast and very well put together. I run a lot of DEs at Sebring and very few Porsches can stay with my Corvette. The ZO6 is just going to smoke everyone. I know of several Turbo owners that have their orders in for one.

I wouldn't trade my Porsche for anything, but when I want to go really fast the Corvette is my choice.

Richard Newton

I posted this before about the Z06 having the 2nd fastest time at the "ring" just behind the Carrera GT and tying the GT2. Obviously they got some handling issues correct. I guess some of the drivers of classic 911's will just be hoping for some mechanical failures as they are getting lapped at the track. Just because it is a corvette doesn't mean it isn't a remarkable car for the money. It is so fast, I don't want one. It scares me:eek:

I think a "Gurney Hump" would have been a cooler idea and easily achieved with a five pound sledge.:)

The new one is a blast to drive, very powerful and handles much better than it predecessors. Great track car. I'm 6'3" 210 pounds and it's a very very tight fit, approaching uncomfortable. I'll stick with 911's, even if I do get passed.

Brilliant, obviously you don't know that Porsche is a union shop! how do you feel about the quality of Porsche's? Do you fly? your flying on union craftsmanship. I work in a union shop and I and my coworkers all have pride in our work. I've worked for Goodrich aerospace for 26 years and if you fly, your flying on an aircraft that I probably calibrated the tools to build.

Maybe Wayne should start a Corvette technical board.