Like an EV? Lol.

 

at times i miss my z. I had a 17 m7 zo7 pack. Sold it in November, took delivery in early July of my c8 built my way. Maybe one day I’ll buy another z, but i can’t get enough of the c8. To each his own, but go drive it hard, canyons or mountains and you’ll appreciate it. My z was a blast and scary to a point. But cracked rims, torque tube issues, squeaky carbon ceramic rotors were the main things that drove me nuts. Having to heat up the rotors with hard braking is fine for a track car/day but not practical. I do miss those 40-130 pulls though, just not enough to warrant not having a c8. That being said C7s will always be one of my favorites.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by vrhaines
Hello! I've put down 1000 miles in my C8 and while its an incredible grand tourer, it feels like it's soulless compared to prior corvettes and muscle cars I've had. Scat Pack, ZL1, SS 1LE...

Anyone else get this feeling? I just cant shake the feeling that its missing something.

Yep, all depends on how you drive!

Put the C8 in Z-Mode set to Track (if you have MRC, Ride wherever you like so don't have to have your teeth rattle driving in Track Mode- my case Ride set to Sport.) Then where safe, put your foot to the floor! Do that often in my rural area between farm fields, no homes, no people.

Yep accelerate after you turn on to this rural road between farm fields close to my home and your at 100+ in seconds.


This will get your adrenaline flowing! Now if you what more excitement shut off the nannies (I would not - foolish.)

Been driving fast cars for 63 years. When I retired 23 years ago designed and built this ProStreet Rod for 0 to 60+ Banzai runs. It has an 8.2 Liter BB with ~525 hp. Engine is set back in a very ridged TCI, 4 bar link rear suspension chassis. Adjusted to have the instant center ahead of the front wheels. Coilovers/disk brakes in all 4 corners. 53% of it's 3000 lbs are on the 9" Ford rear with 16.5 section width Mickey Thompsons (420 metric more than my planned 345 E-Ray rears.) Launches great. BUT if payment isn't uniform and one tire loses grip, have ~1/2 second to lift or you're in a ditch. Posi but no nannies.
It reminds me of driving my friends 427, 435 horse Corvette. With the '67s Vette 205 tires (all we had back in the day) to launch had to slip the clutch as I did in my 1st car built when I was 16 a '41 Ford I stuffed in an Olds engine. (Some may remember the Beach Boys song "Shut Down" ... To get the traction I'm slipping the clutch the pressure plates burning this machines too much...) When shifted into 2nd and 3rd the Vette tried to change lanes. Yep exciting BUT it's 0 to 60 best times were 5 seconds. Silly, sure with today's technology the C8 is not doing stupid stuff (unless you turn off the nannies and are on a poor road surface.) Can't wait for my E-Ray with 160hp FWD and torque vectoring out of an apex as well as 0 to 60 merging into often heavy ~70 mph traffic from a stop sign I have to do every time I leave my home! It will be very civilized when just cruising but not then!

 

I drove a plaid recently, that's fast...so fast it made me naceous

 

Yep, 2.5 seconds 0 to 60. Same as the E-Ray.

When I leave the stop sign at the end of the rural road I live on to merge into ~70 mph, often heavy traffic going to/coming from Myrtle Beach on 4-lane divided highway- I'll be sure not to do that on a full stomach!

 

I don't think some Americans, especially those out of the muscle car era, get the idea of a GT car.

 

The same might be said about Europeans that come from a background of small displacement engines and lightweight tiny cars that can be driven to the limit at all times.

 

yeah, but the plaid is faster...1.9 to 60 and I honestly didnt care for it or the stupid constant braking thing...all it did was go fast in a straight line, no heart or soul..

 

I'm right out of the muscle car era. My friends and I spent many an afternoon in high school working on either a 67 GTO, 69 RS Z28, 70 Z28, 72 Trans Am, or a 69 Hurst Olds that one of them owned. When I first picked up my C8 I drove it home - about 60 miles - on an Interstate in some traffic. When I got near my house I took it on a road with a lot of twisties and was very excited to find out how well it handled. The mid-engine is a game changer for me. I no longer need to hear my engine - even though I got the NPP exhaust - to know I am just as fast or faster than a lot of the muscle cars I see out on the streets. I'm hooked!

 

C8 best, most exciting to drive Corvette I've ever owned, by far over my C6 and C7.

 

Yep looks like I quote the Tesla Model X Plaid.

Funny since ~13 I have appreciated both Hot Rods and European Sports cars. Have had both with the last 6 DD's since my 1988 being Vettes.

 

The C8 with AWE Track exhaust, being paddle shifted in Track Mode is not boring. I've always had Z06's and my order just went in, but this is the best base car yet. Balanced, predictable handling and very quick out of the hole.
The base car needs better exhaust and more horsepower. Doesnt pull so great in triple digits.
The Z06 will fix all of that, but I have thoroughly enjoyed my 2020 coupe and my 22 HTC.

 

These threads must make the C8 team grin from ear to ear knowing they did their job properly. To design and deliver a world class mid-engine sports car means that it has limits well beyond the reach of the majority of its owners and nearly never attainable on public roads. This means the car will seem dull or boring to some at highway speeds. To other's this is exactly what they have always wanted their Corvette to be - a world class mid-engine supercar. Everything in this thread that some are saying iss "exciting" to them and that the C8 is being compared to is something other than a mid-engine supercar.

If anyone ever gets a chance to drive any of what the world considers to be mid-engine supercars and get beyond the initial excitement of just driving an expensive, far more rare exotic you will find they are just as "boring" in everyday driving situations. Sure, they might produce a bit more noise in the cabin in stock form or transmit more bumps in the road to the base of your spine but overall you will find they share far more in common with a C8 than not.

My favorite comparison is a 720S. A mid-engine beast that has an incredible performance envelope. Driving one on the highway, at highway speeds, is an incredibly mundane experience and the car needs to be pushed so much harder before you begin to even feel a sense of speed in it. Well into triple digits it is still effortless and unless you check the speed there is really no sense of just how fast you are really going. I suspect that most in the boring camp here would say the car is just boring as a C8 at 70 or 80MPH. For me I simply appreciate the C8 for these same characteristics. The best handling, best performing version of a Corvette ever. Just like a 720S, a C8 is not for everyone, and that's a good thing.

 

I used to think test drives were somewhat useful, but as I've gained much more experience with dozens of vehicles, I've concluded they aren't. It takes me at least a month or more of experience with a vehicle to decide whether I find it worthy of being a multi-year keeper or not.

Novelty and excitement about something new often interferes with objectivity. Some of my purchased sports cars, that I was initially excited about in test drives, ended up getting sold or traded after a year.

 

This. Even an hour-long test drive really isn't going to overcome the novelty and "new", you need at least a week with a car driving multiple hours every day during that week to really start to learn what it's like. And honestly, it's going to take months for everything to really set in. This is why most of the car mags/reviewers get the cars for a week for their reviews and do long-term (year-long) testing on significant models.

 

The current MX-5 is a great example of a car that many enthusiasts aren't going to be terribly impressed with in a test drive. However, as you learn to drive it properly over time, it becomes incredibly impressive.

I read a couple of comments in this thread about how you can drive less powerful sports cars at the limit all the time, but that's just not the case. You can't drive anything today at the limits on the street all the time and retain your license. In fact, most don't have the talent to drive even an MX-5 at the limits, even on a race track. However, almost everyone can stomp on the throttle and get to the limit in a perfectly straight line.

Between our C8, 911, and MX-5, the latter is the one I will hold on to indefinitely. Not only do I find it incredibly satisfying to drive, but it's relative simplicity compared to almost anything else on the road today, makes it incredibly reliable and economical to maintain.

 

Maybe I’ll trade it on a hellcat challenger.

 

 

just needs 50 more hp amd better wind insulation for highway driving

 

Absolutely, that's the one for you if you really know that the Hellcat's qualities are the ones that you value and will enjoy the most. It's the "really know" part that is most difficult to ascertain without a lot of experience in the car.