PCMIII

Corvette is waiting for the 2019 Porsche 911 reveal so that the Zora can surpass the 911's performance. According to Autocar:
"The initial range-topper of the new 911 line-up will be the Turbo S, which will feature a 620 bhp twin-turbo 3.8-litre flat six. Below that will sit a Turbo model tipped to produce about 570 bhp, and each will have a top speed in excess of 200 mph and cover 0-62 mph in less than 3.0sec."

For Zora to exceed those numbers, it will need the 5.5L TT V8 and Getrag DCT, plus a lot of carbon fiber and magnesium components. This will not be a bargain sports car. It will be a Porsche dominator.

OH THREE Z

I dont see the initial variant of the C8 being a direct competitor of the Turbo S.. that will come in year 2 or 3.

they will sell every 450 hp car they can build in year 1 and 2... beyond that higher performance variants will be offered to keep the demand high

pietro c7

Skid Row Joe

Of course not.

.Keep this in mind though.........the early purchasers will get the lowest MSRP pricing. That was proven with the C7. You snoozed, your pricing went up
several thousands of dollars less than 1-year into production.

gthal

It's interesting when someone goes out of their way to tell people who do care that they don't care. Easier just to not even read or respond to discussions you don't care about, no?

B-Vette

You're off by a minute, Jan 14th at 2:30 p.m.

c6txvette

I'm not sure on date but will chime in and say on pricing the base (imho) will start around 8-10 k above mark for those wanting to be the 1st to have at whatever cost. Look at how much a base C7 was in late 2013? They were 70-75kish for a 1lt lol then came down to reality5-6 months later.

PCMIII

Corvette has been competing with Porsche its entire life. What would be the point of Corvette introducing its brand new model that is clearly inferior to the latest Porsche 911?
Does Corvette want all the media making the point that 911 will eat it for breakfast? Does Corvette want to lose badly every comparison shoot out? How does putting a guaranteed loser on the market sell cars?

PCMIII

Apparently you want to see Corvette get its *** handed to it in every competition with 911 over the next 5 years. I think Corvette would never concede the field to 911 because GM and Corvette have a long, proud history to defend. You just want another bargain priced sports car with a mid engine that accomplishes nothing. Corvette wants to conquer the sports car world with a superior machine that will dominate Porsche.

pietro c7

fpfaeth

Wouldn't it be a heckuva thing to learn that the ME spy photos are a decoy -- that the C8 will be the traditional front-engined Corvette we all have come to love and long for? Going ME has been conjectured for decades, and it never happened. Both the ZR1 and several exotics have no trouble putting down tremendous hp with RWD. Only the racing guys really need the ME design. Just some thoughts as I ponder the ME question!

Foosh

It is very funny that PCM keeps doubling down with a losing hand and his short-circuited logic. He continually argues that the only reason GM is doing this is to wipe the competition off the racing map, therefore it has to be close to a $200K street car.

PCM obviously doesn't understand anything about GTLM racing, and that: 1) manufacturer's street cars have little more than a superficial resemblance to their race cars; and 2) the sanctioning body will ultimately make every manufacturer competing essentially equal in terms of performance.

You can't buy a 911 anything even close to what Porsche is currently racing in GTLM. Not a single mid-engine Porsche RSR has been produced for the street. If anyone should have wiped the competition off the GTLM map recently, it would have been the Ford GT. They did for the first few races after sorting out their introductory, mechanical issues, but then they were brought down to earth with BOP adjustments.

Having said the above, an ME design across the board should improve the racing series, because the other ME cars won't have to be BOP penalized as much. Unfortunately, there will be one FE car left in the series (M8) unless BMW pulls out, so it will bring all the others down.

MitchAlsup

Why can Porsche have a small 3.8L make so much HP that it takes GM 5.5L of displacement to match or beat?

tcinla

PCMIII

Why would Corvette bother building a new ME that could dominate the competition when the Fiero was sooo successful?
Just build another piece of junk and call it a day, right?

Foosh

You really do love comparing apples and oranges and then leaping to bizarre conclusions don't you? Your brain works in very strange ways. You do realize that technology has progressed just a little bit in the last 35 years don't you? If not, check out the performance numbers on a 1983 Porsche 911.

wilfie

Two more choices
5. Never
6. When ever GM decides the car and GM is ready.
GM is laying off 7000 salaried 12+ years experienced people (old petrol heads)
7000 factory hourly layoffs later rumoured
May well do a reduced car production lineup like Ford.
I'm sure execs ask every year for a cost benefit of the racing program.
Or How much can we save by delaying/canceling ME?
If it's not ready now do you rush testing/take chances? The NSX went to the Nurburgring 20 times.

Speaking of early announcements
Interesting history for those that didn't live it.
Dec 11 2011 Acura announces they will show and announce the new NSX concept at Detroit Auto show in 2012.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/a...t-for-detroit/
After major engine/trans changes here was the result in 2017 detailing Acura's misery.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...017-acura-nsx/

PCMIII

If Zora does not win most of the races and dominate Porsche, the cost/benefit ratio will be prohibitive.
Those who think Corvette is building a ME just to be trendy will be sadly disappointed when the high-tech dominator arrives. Zora will not be an engineering exercise that accomplishes nothing like the NSX.

lt4obsesses

While I wouldn't say that they were "decoys", they could've been an engineering experiment that they could choose not to go into production. It's a monumental change, and thus a monumental risk. As far as the question at hand, I don't believe we will hear anything 'official' from GM until they reveal the new Corvette...in whatever form it turns out to be.

sunsalem

I don't get why some around here feel a Porsche 911 has ALWAYS been THE competitor of the Corvette.
I really don't know many Vette owners who seriously consider a Porsche purchase when buying a new Corvette.
For them, the only competition is a previous gen Vette.