Jefff1

I read the article in my new Motor Trend tonight comparing the new C7, 911S4 and the V12 Ferrari. My question is how come Ferrari gets 730 HP out of their 6.3L engine and the C7 gets 465 HP out of their 6.2L engine? Both engines are NA so does a V12 have some bearing on the results? Thank you for helping me understand this....

Z06PSI

Why does the Ferrari cost 400K and the Corvette 75K?

Lavender

You mean 52k?

Z06PSI

I was accounting for some options like Z51.

Supermassive

Ferrari engines are magic and made of unicorn farts and unobtanium...

Of course they also run super high compression, 12 cylinders, higher rpm, aggressive cam timing, and expect that owners rebuild their entire engine every 20k miles. Ferrari engineers are masters of engine building and perfecting power/liter figures...helps that the engineers behind Ferrari engines have a hand in F1 engine tech.

Comparing engines based on displacement is never a wise train of thought. Piston configuration plays a large part on power delivery, it also helps that the F12 runs 4 valves per cylinder with DOHC and VVT. The smaller pistons are able to accelerate faster and put less strain on connecting rods, wrist pins, and crank which allows higher revs. The exotic materials used in the engine allow valves and valve springs to be lighter which also helps with revs. Ferrari engines are also built to much higher tolerances than a Chevy V8.

Of course you can buy a fully loaded C7 for the price of an F12 engine as well so you have to be able to pay to play at that level. Displacement used to be the way to get more power out of an engine, but technology and engineering have come so far that displacement is less of a factor than it once was...add forced induction to the equation and displacement means even less.

Supermassive

Exclusivity, quality of parts, materials used, and made by hand. the biggest factor is covering the cost of engineering/prototyping for a car that will see very small production numbers. The other impossible to put a number on attribute of a ferrari is the experience of driving one. Hate to say it, but nothing out there is like driving a Ferrari, it's so much more than just a car. Of course there are people that can't justify paying that kind of money for one, but I would spend $400k on a Ferrari faster than $400k on a house because I would get more enjoyment out of the Ferrari than the house. That's just me, with my SINK (Single Income-No Kids) mentality.

2003corvettez06

You said it dead on!

Once you go in one for a ride or get to drive it ull know why

skank

The real question is why can't a 730 hp Ferrari run a faster lap than a 460 hp base Corvette around Laguna Seca. I was there watching some of that test when the Corvette engineers downloaded the latest suspension settings and went out and supposedly matched the F12 time. They did not use that faster time because it was not their normal timing equipment that was used. It was a handheld timer and they had already finished their testing. Regardless, the Corvette had ran an even faster lap than they published. I have no reason to downplay Ferrari as I have owned a few of them. I've always enjoyed the Ferrari experience but I'm also a prior Corvette owner. Loved both cars and I'm now interested in the C7 ZO6 or ZR1. If Ferrari's Fastest can't outrun the base Vette, what's going to happen when the hi-po Vette's get here?

2003corvettez06

My guess is they gonna bring out 458 speciale - 3060 lbs - 597 hp - a lot better track car

skank

I've been to the Ferrari factory before and also observed them testing their cars at Fiorano (Their onsite test track). They have indicated that the F12 was their fastest production car ever around Fiorano. Haven't heard what the 458 Speciale has lapped at yet. It may be faster!!! We will see shortly. Tests should be coming out soon.

2003corvettez06

I really expected the 458 speciale to be faster but guess its not


Pos Make / Model Time (kg) Driven by
1. Ferrari LaFerrari 1:20.00
2. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta 1:23.00
3. Ferrari 458 Speciale 1:23.50

skank

Yes, here is the complete list.
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/fiorano.html

Z06PSI

Sarcasm. Guess you didn't get that part.

SCM_Crash

Ferraris are [quite obviously] not built to last 100K miles. Corvettes are.

That's the answer.

On one of the later Top Gears, the Ferrari 458 was disintegrating as they pushed it. LOL

Jefff1

I came away with several thoughts from this article....
The F12 has huge HP but with a weight of 4000# it obviously wasn't meant to be a tracker but more of very fast Luxo sports car

The 911S4 is a great car in many respects due to it's power train refinement and overall feel....AWD seems to be the ticket for this car

They were amazed at how good the new C7 really is in comparison to the P car costing 2.5x and the F12 costing 12x....the C7 is a total package that doesn't need to make excuses at any level...It can be a DD and rack up lots of miles...a superb track car...or a Luxo vert...A whole lot of people can be proud of what the C7 can do...a real value proposition...

high9s

Volumetric efficiency of the 12 cyclinder and RPM, + a lot of money and years of R&D.

The Italians/Germans are masters of gearing and power to weight. I'm still amazed that in 1976 the Porsche Turbo Carrera made 230 hp and still had a 0-60 time of 5.0 seconds. I still have that R&T magazine. That was flying 38 years ago. Oh, and it cost $36,000

ChucksZ06

Wrong. Look at the torque numbers when comparing engines. Remember hp is a function of the rpms and the torque.

W88fixer

I too was surprised at the Ferrari being only what 0.22 sec faster in 98 sec of track running. The testers did comment on the Vettes torque breaking the wheels loose in turns.

The Ferrari, I believe, has a 13.5/1 compression ratio. I’d be interested in a dyno comparison with torque and horsepower figures from near idle rpm on up for both cars. The “area under the curves” might not be as great as the Ferrari HP numbers suggest.

My C7 is on order, has everything I want with a sticker of 57,600 counting destination charge. Gee, the Ferrari is only 7.5X as expensive and where does one get one serviced? The Vette can usually get serviced almost anywhere. Win to the Corvette in my view. Don

RickMN

Making power with high RPMs gives a very different driving characteristic than high torque at low RPMs. You have to run lower gear ratios and shift more often. Means the transmission becomes much more important. To get an idea of usable power, you need to look at what parts of the power curve the engine can actually be run at during the key max-HP portions of the lap. A lot of that depends on the course, transmission, and driver choices/skill.

Power to weight ratio is an important part of the equation. The Ferrari at 730/4000 is 183 HP / 1000 lbs. The Corvette at 460/3400 is not as far behind on this ratio at 135 / 1000 lbs.

Dominic Sorresso

Look at what the Ford Coyote engine does w just a 5 or 5.8L motor. A DOHC just breathes better and the power curve stays flatter at peak than OHV. Could be same peak HP number but the DOHC likely peaks later and hp doesn't drop as fast as OHV motor. We've seen that even in the Corvette w the LT-5.