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C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
Take a look at the C7 narrow body parked between two C6 wide bodies. Add the extra weight and I am really not liking the C7 as much
I can never get over how tall they made the rear end of the C7. It looks like it is at least 2-3" higher. There is just way too much real estate back there and that stupid Carbon Flash rectangle lower that bisects the bumper does not visually reduce the mass either.
And the Z07 wing does not help this mess either:
If any owner tacked on such a high bulky wing onto their car they would get ridiculed and get beaten by the Rice hammer. That wing would be fine on a muscle car but just looks awful on a sports car. Not one other high end sports car out there has such a clunky monstrosity tacked onto their rear end.
i can never get over how tall they made the rear end of the c7. It looks like it is at least 2-3" higher. There is just way too much real estate back there and that stupid carbon flash rectangle lower that bisects the bumper does not visually reduce the mass either.
And the z07 wing does not help this mess either:
if any owner tacked on such a high bulky wing onto their car they would get ridiculed and get beaten by the rice hammer. That wing would be fine on a muscle car but just looks awful on a sports car. Not one other high end sports car out there has such a clunky monstrosity tacked onto their rear end.
It is tough to create a light weight sports car now with the creature comforts people want and need.
however that is where this big power output motors come in to subsidize for that.
Obviously there a some that feel that enough power can overcome too much weight. I do not happen to subscribe to that thought. A 4400 lb car with a 707 horsepower is of no interest to me, nor is a 3800 lb car with an LS7 motor or a 4100 lb car with a ZL1 motor, nor 3550 lbs with 650 hp.
Although I likely require enough car to not be able to get down low in the 2000 lb range my limit is 3300 lbs. Coupe, Sports Car or Sedan.
Miata, BRZ, FRS, Atom, Lotus, Seven, KTM, upcoming Local motors car, etc.
I would say no, the lightweight sports car is definately not dead unless your requirements are a 400+hp v8. There are probably more than ever.
While I'll give you the Miata, it has still balooned. It is still considered relatively light for any generation, but is nowhere near the pure bare bones car it was several hundred pounds ago.
The BRZ and FRS are the same car, so they account for one. Most importanly, that (those) car is 2800 pounds with a half a tank of fuel. Relatively light for today, but again, that was roughly your average import sedan when Clinton was in office.
Lotus doesn't sell light cars here anymore. Nix them. The Seven, KTM, and Ariel are hardly cars, and hardly street legal, if at all in some places.
Point being, there are niche toys that usually require helmets or goggles to be driven, or a foreign country, that still remain light.... but those we can buy and use on this soil have ballooned upward.
In 2025, we'll be raving about the newly revived Pontiac company building a, gasp, super light weight 3600lb Solstice! How'd they do it? Nano steel and carbon with pressurized helium honeycomb monocoque?
I was thinking about this some more and realized that I forgot the Porsche Cayman R. It weighs right around 3000 lbs. I agree that they're not 2400 lbs like a 1967 911S, but I consider 3000 lbs to be a light car.
I was thinking about this some more and realized that I forgot the Porsche Cayman R. It weighs right around 3000 lbs. I agree that they're not 2400 lbs like a 1967 911S, but I consider 3000 lbs to be a light car.
I agree, and I think the era of lightweight cars is not over. Nothing ever is over when it comes to these cars. But I also think weight is relative to performance, and exactly the reason why the modern 911 easily dispatches the 67' 911. Though the 67 911 bragging about being a lighter car still makes it the lesser performer, it's just a feel-good badge to pin on one's self. I feel that way when the C6 vs C7 weight comes up. If the C7 Z06 cuts impressive track times that put it a good deal above the previous C6 Z06 performance, stock to stock, it's doing its job.
The next gen Miata was announced and they dropped 200lbs. Regardless of your feelings of the Miata, gotta give them props for that.
The 2016 Miata will have a curb weight of 2250lbs, a reduction of 220lbs or 9% lower. Performance and creature comfort will improve in every metric.
By comparison, the C7 Z06 vs the 2006 Z06 gains 375lbs or 12% increase. Yes performance and creature comfort will improve by MOST metrics, but why can Mazda shave 100 kg from an already light car while we end up with a plus-size chunker?????
The next gen Miata was announced and they dropped 200lbs. Regardless of your feelings of the Miata, gotta give them props for that.
The Miata catches a lot of undue flak. The Miata is a great platform for grassroots guys to pick up on the cheap and have a lot of fun with. I've seen a lot of posts on this forum over the years rip them for being chick cars. I've never thought of them like that, especially considering one of the manliest cars of all time, the AC Cobra, started out as a "secretary's car", per Shelby's own words before he worked his magic.
When I was in the market for a Z06 last year there was another car I was interested in. 2nd Gen CTSV. After careful evaluation and lots of research I chose the Z06. One of the main reasons…The weight.
There was a time when I wasn't interested in a car heavier than 3300 lb's. I had to raise that weight to 3500 lbs within recent years. There's just nothing that interests me since its mostly 4 bangers and kit cars are the offered under 3300 lbs.
I've noticed Z06 owners are different, we strive for more performance oriented automobiles. Less weight, more power, a great chassis and suspension design. I'll enjoy my Z06 in the mean time.
It is the Corvette itself that spoiled us with light weight.
I remember how cool the Reborn C5 Z06 was. Thinner glass, less sound deadening, less creature comforts, Stick only, fixed roof and MORE POWER created an new icon for the modern Sports Car segment - no easy feat.
Now look at the C7 version A LOT heavier, way too many tacked on over the top fast and furious parts, automatic (understandable for a sales perspective and for 1/4 mile times) and a removable roof. I can't remember any significant portion of the Z06 owners ever clamoring for a targa. The convertible I get again for sales, but now those of us that want nothing to do with targa top or convertibles have no choice.
The era is dead. Despite the industry's best attempts, they're only going to get fatter. We can make light creature comforts. We can make light accessories. We can make light tech.
What we cannot make is lightweight legislation, lightweight NHTSA requirements, or lightweight government interference. Cars are heavy because US legislation dictates excessive levels of occupant, pedestrian, and environmental protection, as backwards as that sounds. For example, the new Alfa 4C is a 21XXlb car in Europe. It gained somewhere just short of 400lbs coming abroad to meet US standards and regulations. Defeats the entire ethos of the car.
^^^ This....I was disappointed with the US spec Alfa as well
Some of us remember 1973 and the predictions that the era of the performance car was over. High performance will continue to evolve, whether the cars are heavier or not.
Some of us remember 1973 and the predictions that the era of the performance car was over. High performance will continue to evolve, whether the cars are heavier or not.
And look how long US auto makers took to evolve.
It's not about Sports cars or even the Corvette. This is about the Z06 relinquishing it's crown as one of the lightest high HP cars on the planet to becoming the chunky monkey of the lineup approaching muscle car weight.
Z06 was lighter and more powerful than the base car. That was the ethos and half of it has just been flushed away.
All the technology and evolution in the world is not as good as engineering a lighter car.
Is the C6Z06 the end of an era? It seems like the new performance cars are all looking at huge horspower, but accompanied by huge weight.
True the 14 Viper is only 3354 lbs delivered, but the ZR1 is a bit over 3400, the HellCat is way porky at 4400 lbs, the Fifth Gen Camaro is over 4000 lbs unless you give up everything and buy a Z28 which is still 3800. The new 2015 mustang is over 3800 lbs, and the C7Z06 looks to be 3500 lbs or so.
Seems like having an NA lightweight good handling (for more than one lap) performance car is a thing of the past.
Well, maybe Porsche will stay the course but the rest of the Germans seem to love building a car north of two tons.
I probably am in the minority but the first nunber I look for on any new car announcement or magazine or internet test is the delivered curb weight, primarily because I wouldn't have a performance car over 3300 lbs. Why bother?
Or am i wrong?
You are not wrong, but you are in the minority. I didn't realize how light and nimble my '10 Z06 was until I picked up my C7 Z51 (1LT) and though, uh oh. I really like the car, but driving experience, the feel of driving is diminished. The C7 is my grandfathers dream corvette. Against my better judgment I keep thinking of trading the C7 for a Cayman S.
I consider myself very fortunate have both ends of the driving/riding spectrum in my garage.
You are not wrong, but you are in the minority. I didn't realize how light and nimble my '10 Z06 was until I picked up my C7 Z51 (1LT) and though, uh oh. I really like the car, but driving experience, the feel of driving is diminished. The C7 is my grandfathers dream corvette. Against my better judgment I keep thinking of trading the C7 for a Cayman S.
I too am considering buying a Cayman S! If there is another Cayman R in the cards, that would definitely be my next sports car.
You are not wrong, but you are in the minority. I didn't realize how light and nimble my '10 Z06 was until I picked up my C7 Z51 (1LT) and though, uh oh. I really like the car, but driving experience, the feel of driving is diminished. The C7 is my grandfathers dream corvette. Against my better judgment I keep thinking of trading the C7 for a Cayman S.
I consider myself very fortunate have both ends of the driving/riding spectrum in my garage.
Love the S2000. Bought one new in 2001 and in retrospect I never should have gotten out of it. My C6Z comes close to the feel of it but it's bigger and not as nimble...the power though...
09-19-2014, 05:46 PM
