wearymicrobe said:What's up with the availability on this thing. Getting a convertible even an option in 2020 or everything sold out with addendums.
Do the words "UAW strike" ring a bell?
wearymicrobe said:What's up with the availability on this thing. Getting a convertible even an option in 2020 or everything sold out with addendums.
Do the words "UAW strike" ring a bell?
Back in 2005, C&D had the 2006 C6 Z06 do the exact same 1:26.0 as the C8 Z51. The C7's performance was probably somewhere between a C6 Grand Sport and Z06 at Grattan. The C8's performance might be C7 Grand Sport level. At VIR C&D had the C7 put in essentially same time as the C6 Z06, which is very impressive, particularly given the Z06's weight and power advantage.
The C5 and C6 were very impressively low weight, particularly given the size of the vehicle, engine, etc. The C7 was just an evolution, but while it put on a bit of weight, it delivered more performance. We now have confirmed measurements of the C8 being almost exactly 500lbs over the C6 Z06. It's about 40lbs less than a Camaro SS. Using C&D nubers, the C8's low speed acceleration is impressive, but 0-150mph of the C6 Z06 vs. C8 with similar power is 17.9 vs. 19.4. 1/4 miles are 11.7 @ 127mph vs. 11.2 @ 122mph.
I guess my question is, does the base C8 chassis/suspension actually deliver much more performance than the C7? Sounds like it might have better behaved suspension and a more multi-purpose suspension. It's better value for the money than say the C6 Z06, but is an epoch leap forward? Would they be further ahead simply slapping the ZR1 suspension on a base C7?
Snrub said:We now have confirmed measurements of the C8 being almost exactly 500lbs over the C6 Z06. It's about 40lbs less than a Camaro SS.
Wow!
The C8 will no doubt be a very, very fast car. But that weight is.... more than I expected.
The C5 and C6 were very impressively low weight, particularly given the size of the vehicle, engine, etc. The C7 was just an evolution, but while it put on a bit of weight, it delivered more performance. We now have confirmed measurements of the C8 being almost exactly 500lbs over the C6 Z06. It's about 40lbs less than a Camaro SS. Using C&D nubers, the C8's low speed acceleration is impressive, but 0-150mph of the C6 Z06 vs. C8 with similar power is 17.9 vs. 19.4. 1/4 miles are 11.7 @ 127mph vs. 11.2 @ 122mph.
Interesting insights. Glad you posted that. 
Snrub said:The C5 and C6 were very impressively low weight, particularly given the size of the vehicle, engine, etc.
I've discovered, for me at least, lower weight equals more fun behind the wheel. This also means I should get back to my fighting weight.....
Heavy cars can impress, but they are not as much fun.
Dave M said:The MT review seems like the most insightful one. The understeer tuned into the stability control is to prevent snap oversteer. On the plus side, the c8 can put all of its power down coming out of a corner. Brake by wire stinks (duh). Tl;Dr they are saving the supercar performance for the Z06.
Right. Anything with a rear weight bias is going to naturally want to oversteer, so the suspension gets tuned to understeer. And the side effect of being able to put down power out of a corner is massive understeer as you unweight the front tires.
It's a handling quirk that Porsche has been working on taming for over 50 years now.
In case anyone wants links to some reviews:
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a29462701/2020-chevy-corvette-by-the-numbers/
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2020-chevrolet-corvette-preview/
https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/a29471987/2020-corvette-c8-first-drive-test/
3,622 lbs? Dang. 3,647 for Road and Track. Also, comparisons to the 911 are more appropriate now, considering Motor Trend's tester was $88K and the other mags tested versions at similar prices. My impression from reading these reviews was that the interior is much better, and the handling and braking are actually worse overall than the C7, but the extra power, weight over the rear wheels, and the dual clutch transmission are enough to compensate and make a faster overall lap time - mostly due to acceleration. I imagine bumping the front tires up to a 255 would probably help with the understeer problem. Also, maxing out 2nd at 55mph will make for lots of awkward shifting while autocrossing, but I guess the transmission will make that mostly a non-issue. I'm also gonna throw it out there that we'll never see a manual version of this car, as it would be a lot slower - that launch control and 8 speed auto are what's making the 0-60 times so fast. A full manual would ruin that sub-3 second time. I found it interesting that the Cayman was mentioned - handles better, brakes better, basically everythings better except acceleration, where it's only 0.7 seconds behind with less than half the engine size.
And I still can't get used to that huge side scoop and camaro rear end. The rest of the car looks alright and I'm sure it's a joy to drive, but those two design elements ruin the looks for me. The C8 isn't really a car that excites me much, but I think the C9 is going to be spectacular.
infinitenexus said:And I still can't get used to that huge side scoop and camaro rear end... The C8 isn't really a car that excites me much, but I think the C9 is going to be spectacular.
I'm right there with you. The C8 sounds like a hell of a machine for the money, but in photos I find it odd looking from many angles. Better in the flesh, perhaps?
nderwater said:infinitenexus said:And I still can't get used to that huge side scoop and camaro rear end... The C8 isn't really a car that excites me much, but I think the C9 is going to be spectacular.
I'm right there with you. The C8 sounds like a hell of a machine for the money, but in photos I find it odd looking from many angles. Better in the flesh, perhaps?
It's very good in the flesh
I imagine it's like the new Volvo wagon, that looks just okay in pictures and holy crap that's a gorgeous volvo in person.
It's excellent in person. The flank is significantly more curved than it looks in photos.
In reply to G_Body_Man :
Curved is good, I suppose, but that new-Camaro rear end just undoes the styling in my eye.
Then again, I'm also not a fan of the interior and the modernization steps they took but, I'm a young luddite...
After recent years of a number of GM products having wicked suspension/chassis tunes, I was kind of expecting the C8 to be a dynamic tour de force. It doesn't sound like they quite got there. When they've developed previous cars with excellent handling, the front engine seemed like a handicap and I imagined they'd be unstoppable with a mid-engine design. Maybe the Grand Sport will be the model where they dial in the chassis for the kill, while the regular car, even with the Z51 package, will be more of a general performance car/grand tourer?
The 5th gen Camaro rear end was a poor reference to a decent looking Corvette rear end. Now the tail is wagging the dog. I hate stereotypes but if I said "the c8 looks likes an attempt to make an MR sports car physically fit the kind of people who will actually buy it", i feel like most of yall would get my drift. I mean, im a prospective vette owner too and im not particularly old or heavy, but if i wait until i am to buy one I won't exactly be disproving anything.
I also think the C9 is likely to be amazing. Even later C8s, but i doubt they'll ever change it enough to make it 'good looking' to my eye.
So it’s still a Corvette, tame enough for old dudes to drive around town but with plenty of room to add mind bending performance to the hot rod versions.
And yes, they do look and sound wicked in person.
Does the C8 look GOOD in person or striking? Given that it's a big departure from old Corvettes or, frankly, anything we've seen before it certainly seems like a very striking car.
Not having seen it in person yet I think the issue I'm going to have with it is the same as I've had with much of GM's styling recently when it comes to the Corvette (C7) and Camaro. It's that they went all in on the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter aesthetic and now they're doubling down on it. The C7 Corvette looks great to me at a distance, nice overall sports car shape with excellent proportions, but then you get close to it and start picking up on all the details that just go too far. I believe that's how I'm going to end up feeling about the C8.... great shape, beautifully proportioned, but ultimately overstyled with too many creases and highlighted shapes where they just aren't necessary. Too much design noise that distracts from the beautiful broad lines and shape of the car.
Regarding the weight - C&D now has a article on it. They attribute the gain to the DCT, extra cooling gear (which is probably worthwhile), bigger body size, ability to build RHD/LHD variants, bigger wheels/tires/brakes.
My take on some of the themes mentioned by recent posts: Historically the Corvette had clean lines, but the C7 changed that. The C7 ZR-1 in particular does not look nice, but much of it was for function. Modern "muscle cars" often do style by adding faux bumps, scoops, plastic contrast bits, etc. There is a contrast between artful style and tacky. I felt like the C7 embraced the later a bit. The C8 has some aspects I really like and some other stuff that feels a bit tacky.
Different types of people are attracted to different things and I'm sure they know who their market is. I had multiple occasions of driving by a construction site in the 6th gen Camaro, where I began to understand what it might feel like to be a women walking by. It received zero attention from most others. My RX-8 still turned heads towards the end of it's time with me, but the people were often younger; A kid yelled out "wow" as I drove by, a few months before I sold it. Young women whipped their heads around to see who the idiot was blipping the throttle on downshift, probably to be disappointed that it was not who they were hoping. Other people seemed sort of the opposite of the people who ogled the Camaro. No one looks at the FiST.
It's not even saddled with electric motors and a battery yet...
I had multiple occasions of driving by a construction site in the 6th gen Camaro, where I began to understand what it might feel like to be a women walking by.
What about binders full of women tho? Whoops, wrong election cycle. Grab em by the Camaro!!
Why don't women buy Corvettes, anyway?
My coworker bought a C5 but his wife picked out the car. She found the car on Ebay, he bid below reserve and won anyway for a really low price, and did a fly and drive to pick up the car. Just because women don't buy corvettes doesn't mean they don't choose them :)
Coworker was looking at Miatas but made the right choice, there's no way he would have got a Miata nearly as nice as the Vette for what he paid.
I seem to be a bit of a rare case as I feel the C7 is the best looking Corvette so far. Sure, there's a couple details on the body that got "GMed" up but overall I think it looks incredible. And now with the C8 coming down the prices will drop, so hey maybe if I can land a decent job I can get a used C7 for a steal some time in the future!
infinitenexus said:I seem to be a bit of a rare case as I feel the C7 is the best looking Corvette so far.
imho, the C7 was the second-best looking Corvette so far. Game, set, and match to the '56-57 C1.
Snrub said:I was kind of expecting the C8 to be a dynamic tour de force. It doesn't sound like they quite got there.
I'm not quite ready to call it just yet after a bunch og magazines tested a car on stock rubber that's criminally undersized in the front and no camber. I think the architecture is sound and I'm going to attribute a lot of this early grumbling to setup. There's a TON of adjustability in that suspension.
They probably left a fair bit of room for improvement in the base model setup, otherwise they won't have enough stuff to put on the fancy Z06 model or whatever that would make it worth paying extra for.
JG Pasterjak said:Snrub said:I was kind of expecting the C8 to be a dynamic tour de force. It doesn't sound like they quite got there.
I'm not quite ready to call it just yet after a bunch og magazines tested a car on stock rubber that's criminally undersized in the front and no camber. I think the architecture is sound and I'm going to attribute a lot of this early grumbling to setup. There's a TON of adjustability in that suspension.
Yeah watch the smoking tire video and he's having a blast with the TC off. A little understeer? Sure. But this car has to do double old man and racetrack duty.
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