My Generation: One-14-Fourteen, Page 3

Though all of these reasons are important the critical part of the strategy is timing.  The importance of acting fast cannot be overemphasized.   And I’m confident that being a real car guy, someone that knows more than a little about what it takes to build a true performance car,  Reuss already has the engineering team hard at work getting the modified, high performance version of  LT1 engine ready for production.  

Now the part that really helps to remedy my dissonance over the 2014 ?milk toast? LT1 is simply imagining what Reuss and his team will likely deliver based on what has already been delivered in the form of the 2014 Camaro Z28 and ZL1.  Imagine just for a moment what the new Z06 or ZR1 will be like in terms of performance.  Knowing how important it is to get these versions to the market by 2015 and understanding the timing necessary to get a modified powertrain to market, there has to be a prototype or two burning up Milford’s test track as you read this. 

One of the real exciting parts is simply speculating on the performance specifications necessary to recapture the performance title.  To arrive at what is not only likely, but necessary, we have to look at not only the 2014 Camaro specifications but also look at the numbers from the 2013 Corvette Z06 and ZR1 and then add in what the 2013 Shelby GT500 and the 2013 SRT Viper GTS is churning out.  Based on a compilation of the numbers the new modified LT1 would have produce between 650 to 700 HP.  Torque will likely come in around 650 lb-ft;  with 0-60 times in the neighborhood of 3.2 to 3.5 seconds;  a top speed over 200 MPH and cornering capability of 1.2g or more.  And those, Vette fans, are not just fantasy specs.  They are what will be required to simply remain competitive in 2015. 

We all know how frustrating it was as we waited in anticipation of the new C7.  We had to endure all of those ?teaser ads? while the days seemed to drag on.  But one thing was guaranteed; on 1-13-13 we?d get to see the new C7.  On ?One-13-Thirteen? the car had to be finished, ready and those inside GM were committed to making that date.  It is that same commitment and drive necessary to get the Z06 completed and to market for the 2015 model year.  We don’t have the four years it took to get the C5 Z06 to market, we don’t even have two years to get the C7 Z06 to market.  Though I’m not sure I can endure another agonizing countdown, at this point, to get the 06 to market I am willing to even advocate GM to mount a new campaign,  ?One-14-Fourteen.?  The unveiling of the new Z06, the return of the beast. I think that is an unveiling that all of the Corvette lovers would welcome.  That would be a date that would live in history, ?One-14-Fourteen?, the day the performance King was returned to the throne.