JerriVette

Thanks guys...I appreciate not taking this argumentative style into every god dam thread...lol

Good that you kissed and made up...

Only semi retired at 47 Joe? That's kind a slacking although the four heart attacks and surviving cancer does allow for us to cut you some slack...

One last thing Joe, only doing 160 mph in your c6 z06 five years ago is kind a taking it a bit easy on that tops out at 198 mph sports car...I mean really Joe...

What are you doing letting off in the gas at 160 mph? At 70 years old when you did that run...you should have known better and kept your foot down longer ...

I mean really Joe....what were you thinking not going faster and don't give us this crap the car ran out of road....

Just fooling around Joe and glad to hear you are a survivor....now smile more and be grateful your still around....just like the rest of us...

JoesC5

Three years ago I was in my Z06(spent the night in Laughlin, NV) and was traveling north on US95 through Cal Nev Ari, NV. Early on a Sunday Morning, absolutely no traffic, unbelievably smooth, straight four lane divided highway that went on for miles and miles.

I thought about doing a 198 MPH run, but I figured that others probably had done it in the past and a plane flying overhead timing me, might just ruin my vacation.

BUT, I sure wanted to. Just chicken. Not because of the speed involved, but landing up in jail is not on my bucket list.

The only "safe" and legal place to hit 198 is that 7.5 mile long oval test track in Ohio. While I have barely enough money to do most things I want to complete that are on my bucket list, I'm not rich and renting that private track for a day to do a 198 MPH run is out of the question.

Only place I know of where I could maybe hit 198 is the event they have in Idaho. It's $2,000 for a single pass(plus another $1,500 for motels, gasoline and food to get there and back). An 82 year old grandmother hit 172 MPH into a head wind and her window blew out of it's track, in her C5 on that two lane highway at that event. That's pretty good for a car with only a 176 MPH top speed. Appears to be relatively smooth 2 lane highway but only 2 mile distance for accelerating from a dead stop. I'm not sure my Z06 can get up to 198 in two miles. That last 20 MPH is hard to get with the Z06's 5th gear ratio. Might be able to hit 198 if I had the ZR1's 5th gear ratio.

Oh well. It's not going to happen, as much as I would like to do at least one 198 MPH run, as next year I'm sure to be older than I am now.

acrace

Base mid-engine = glass reinforced SMC body panels.

Future performance variants will see selected carbon body panels as uprated content.

roadbike56

Thanks Joe, I had no luck finding that reference. Now that we're a little further down the road, it makes even more sense that when it first came out. I read it that the ME will come out in 2019 as a 2020, and that the C7 will continue for two years after the ME, maybe ending in 2021 or 2022.

quick04Z06

GM usually does not do things first if first means very expensive. Their key is working the production technology to the point where the unit cost is reasonable, so while CF has been available for many years, it did not appear in the Corvette until the 2004 Z06 CE hood because hand laid, expensive CF panels where not GM's way.

JerriVette

I think and it's just a guess but I'd imagine Cadillac Audi R8 competitor will be covered in aluminum body panels.

I would think the aluminum can give the sports luxury Audi R8 competitor from Cadillac the exterior finish that would compete with the R8.

I believe the composite panel gaps due to required expansion and shrinkage are a big deal to European luxury sports car buyers etc..