ZERV started this thread on the 13th. 12 days of Christmas confirmed.

The C7 is already there in the power and handling. Exterior and interior aesthetics, fit and finish, and driving experience are the key areas where the Corvette fall behind. Sure, a Z07 has 1.19 G’s of grip with brand new “summer only don’t use unless it’s above 70° and dry only good once warm only good for 20 minutes” tires. But supercars such as the 570s or Lamborghini Huracan are good everywhere, anytime. In those cars, the quality is just as good as the performance. Loads of leather, alcantara, aluminum, carbon fiber, contrast stitching, and custom touches make up their interiors, but cheap plastics and boring design get left out. Aluminum body panels, paint jobs that cost five digits, exposed carbon fiber, amazing wheels, beautiful curves and/or striking lines and cleverly-designed aerodynamic pieces make the exterior stand out. Making a great supercar isn’t an $80,000 or even $150,000 Job. It requires time, clever engineering, creativity, talented designers, skilled craftsmen and assemblers, and enough money to cover the costs. Perhaps the Base model C8 will start at $80,000 to fight Porsches and higher models will start at $190,000 to rival McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and the halo supercars such as the R8, NSX, and Ford GT. Judging by these leaks, the engineers have redone the car from the ground up, and they have all the right parts in all the right places. If the Alpha platform can be considered one of the best chassis on the market, there’s no excuse for this car to not have a better chassis than the Lamborghinis and Ferraris. It’s all going to come down to the exterior. No matter how much we say that the performance is what counts, nobody wants to have a fast car that looks like a 21st century Fiero.

An affordable quality car means a lower-performing quality car. For $55,000, a Porsche Cayman has outstanding quality all around. But for $55,000, a turbocharged four cylinder with 350hp doesn’t seem that impressive. The Miata is a very affordable car with great quality and it’s so light that it doesn’t need an expensive engine or suspension to be a great performance car. A Corvette Stingray with Porsche 911 quality would start at $80,000. I believe that’s a fair price for such a car. I do believe that you should look at a Cayman if you want affordable quality, or a Miata if you’re talking about my kind of affordable.