BlueOx

I always find it hard to read/watch a comparo like this. When cost/horsepower/form factor are so different, it makes comparing them very difficult. Clearly, Ferrari is a sex machine in every sense but at the track at a price few can afford. The Porsche is a dominant car handling-wise but looks like every Porsche made in recent memory. The Stingray finally has the feel and speed to match the twice-as-expensive Porsche but you better have it set up right to do so.

Ultimately, my greatest takeaway from this comparo it is extremely impressive that the C7 stands with these other world-class contestants for the performance and feel, price be damned. A home run.

AND I am so FRICKING glad we don't have to hear any crap about the interior/seats!!!

b4i4getit

I agree with you about the seat remarks but I would still like the phrase "great car for the price" to be banished from these magazines.

skank

Gentlemen. I was there for this test. I talked to Jonny for a half hour on the 911 vs C7. He told me this was going to be very very close. So close in fact that it will be a personal preference call. When I posted the 911 vs C7 thread a while back I couldn't talk about it much as I told Jonny I wouldn't give out the results. That thread went ballistic with anticipation of this test. One thing that happened that they didn't report was a second run around the track by the engineers from Corvette that matched the F12 time. After the Motor Trend guys finished up and also Pobst, the Corvette engineers reset the computer handling parameters and went out and reset a time which was faster and also matched the Ferrari time. The engineers called out to see if they wanted to accept that time and the MT guys said no. They had already done their lap timing and that the new time by Corvette would not be used. That's probably fair since Porsche and Ferrari did not have their testing engineers there to extract a better time. Overall a great result for Corvette. Jonny didn't give out his final results to me but I think he was having a real time of it making a decision on this. All of the MT guys were there and I'm sure it was a consensus of all, but could be nothing more than 911 fanboys vs Corvette fanboys in the group. I know Angus is a Porsche guy. I forgot to mention that the Corvette was a pre-production car without the the latest handling parameters. The Corvette engineers indicated that and then changed it to their latest settings. Hence, the faster lap time!!!

OnPoint

They don't have to charge that amount. Rather they can and do.

It's the difference b/n being a price seeker and a price taker.


Excellent comparo. I think Ox sums it up nicely. Three outstanding machines of vastly different DNA and a group in which team vette should be justifiably proud to see their machine.

And, man oh man, how about the sound of the F car V12. I hope that's not the last V12 they're able to make. Would be a damned shame for the world to lose that mill.

Hot Rod Todd

Pobst turned a 140.92 in the 2006 Z06. No doubt the tires were inferior to the new C7, but it still shows how far we have come. I don't think Randy ever ran a Grand Sport around Laguna Seca to compare.

racerns

The 1:40 lap time for the '06 Z06 was not Pobst. It was Max Angelelli, so not a direct comparison.

For comparison the '09 ZR1, with Pobst driving, turned a 1:35.8.

ChucksZ06

Why did the tool drive the corvette and Probst showed what the other two could do? Very obvious he was going a lot slower than the pro. It is also obvious that stiffer stabilizer bars and better rubber will help the car a lot on the track.

DanTheFireman

The Ferrari is five times the cost of the C7, 102k in options alone. Throw another zero on my bank account though, I'll take one.

1998prince

Even with the options the vette is 1/2 the price of the Porsche. If that's not value, I don't know what is.

This article just reinforces how complete the C7 is.

450hp mike9

Great to watch and the Ferrari sounds like a 12 cylinder car should. But the Porsche is still ugly . Toad hall racing is what I call them. I was kind of let down when randy was not driving the C7 in the video . They used numb nuts and he look liked he was going to church . Slowest car around the track and 1/4 mile wins. WHAT

ChucksZ06

We all bitch about the c7's weight (me included) but look at the Ferrari's over 4,000 lbs. It needs 700hp and dct transmission.

edub63vette

If there is even a reason to do a compare between a $55k car and a $155k car, the $55k car has already won, IMHO.

Stingray23

I would like to see a MANUAL porsche c2(RWD) vs the C7. That would properly show you the difference in performance.

LS6GXP

Exactly, I've been pointing that out since the Edmonds test... A manual car vs. The most advanced DCT's available and still held its own. VERY IMPRESSIVE

Guibo

Great result for the Corvette and good writeup, though the road test portion was a bit skimpy on info.

So they had the production handling parameters all loaded up and ready to go...yet decided not to use it. Is Ralph working for GM now? You were hyping everything up with your "sworn to secrecy" and "It will certainly be a one way street towards the C7 and not the other way around." While I think some people will be moved toward the C7, it's not necessarily a one-way street as those who have aspired to own a 911 will continue to do so. Those with crazy money will pick one of each. Funny how it's a one-way street to Corvette, but no one here wants to acknowledge that the Porsche, costing only slightly more than 1/3rd of the Ferrari's price, lapped in a very similar time. It's not the "dominating" figure you were claiming and Motor Trend spells this out:
"However, it's not radically ahead of the 140-lb-ft-torque-deficient AWD 911."


Claims by others of "5 seconds faster at VIR or Laguna Seca" now rest entirely on VIR, as the difference at LS was only 0.72s.

McGirk94LT1

It's best vs best(relatively speaking).

Notice Chevy isn't throwing auto-Z51's around to all the mags? They sure could if they wanted to.

No excuses in real life folks, life is all about run what ya brung.

Something's still fishy about this f12 though. It just doesn't add up that the 599gtb is nearly its match. The 300-400lbs over the 599, where did it appear from?!? Isn't the AWD 4 seat FF 4200lbs? Isn't the aventador 3900lbs? How could Ferrari release such an underachieving car go from development to production? No one stopped and said wait a minute...?

427Z0SX

And we all know that the Corvette will not win that comparo, either. If only predicting the stock market was this easy.

truth.b

Daekwan06

What I learned from this comparo.

1) I cannot afford the Ferrari. It is simply not going to happen.

2) I can uncomfortably afford the 911S Carrera, but think its silly to pay $155K for car that is so common in the DC area. I imagine pulling up beside a soccer mom who has her kids in the back of her 911 and wondering why I spent that much money on a 911. At that point, I would probably kick myself in the nuts as I could have bought a condo in Miami with $155K and never had to worry about seeing a soccer mom next door.

3) I can very comfortably afford the C7. It looks as good as any sports car on the market and performs as well as cars that cost 3x its price.

jimb100

I'm tired of hearing about "value".

If I have $150k to spend on a car the value proposition means nothing to me. If I have $70k to spend on a car it still means nothing because I can't afford the Porsche so its the Corvette for me.

Why would anyone be surprised that the Porsche, with its more expensive suspension set up, PDK trans and all wheel drive has a better track "feel" than the Corvette?

That Corvette delivers 99% of the Porsche for half the price is a testament to GM and the engineering team. For us working stiffs for whom there is no other option, we need to give thanks.