jmm

A turbo works because it has the air and fuel volume of a larger engine forced into it. There is a slight lag but technology is trying fairly successfully to eliminate that. A large engine can get that fuel volume naturally with less lag. When you don't need it, it shuts back. When you do, it gets it quicker than a turbo can get it.

Years ago, a mechanic friend of mine said there were two ways to make power: cubic inches or cubic money.

Corvette will share this engine with pickup trucks and large sedans soon. They wouldn't be competitive in that market if it was a high-tech, cost-no-object motor.

Again, this car hits the mark it was aiming for.

jmm

Weight distribution is 50-50. That's not necessarily ideal for handling or traction, but most automotive designers think it's a nice trade-off between handling and predictable safety. It is considered front/mid engined by engineers. And the motor weighs less and takes up less volume than the Mercedes v8 (because of the compactness of in-the-block camshaft versus overhead camshaft).

It definitely drives different than a 911, but if you check, all cars have abandoned the 911 way except Porsche. A favorite saying of auto journalists is that the 911 is a bad idea, perfectly executed. Until wide tires and exotic suspension techniques along with electronic nannies were introduced, Porsche handling was a handful. Part of the thrill was learning the technique to control it.

chuckbdc

How would you feel if you knew it had the engine behind the front wheels in a front mid engine configuration, had a more even weight distribution and weighed about a gas tank full more than the Cayman? Too much power?

holminator

Hmmm, then I better rethink my position on that aspect of the car. Fair is fair.

neanicu

Wait until the 991 Turbo arrives.
The so called Turbo Lag is completely eliminated! Porsche almost eliminated it in the 997 Turbo with the VTG(variable turbo geometry),but in the 991,the talk is,it will have a Tri-Turbo system,with a smaller 3rd Turbo spooling at virtually any engine speed,which will eliminate the lag when you're employing the first and second Turbo. It will be an amazing piece of machinery! Something that a Corvette can only dream about for now...

chuckbdc

Watch the interview Bedard did with the chassis engineer- He described how they have engineered the car to have less "big lump" in front feel to something more like a 991 in its "sophistication".

I doubt that the Corvette will have the overall quality of a 991 and I much prefer the 991 design inside and out. We get what we pay for.

But I would not bet that the performance will be much different in the street models. That is the Vette design and cost philosophy and why the car is still around- bang for the buck. All bets are off in track day varieties- both GM and Porsche are capable of engineering insanity.

chuckbdc

Pssst- stay away from the ZR1- it will upset your illusions.

neanicu

The only thing a ZR1 can upset is in a straight line acceleration. If this is what we're talking about,then...Yes.
ZR1's problem is that turns do come sooner or later...

solomonschris

They sell about 25,000 Corvettes per year. They sell about 500,000 pickup trucks. Each new small block V8 was developed for the truck. It is a modified truck engine that resides in the Corvette. That they are able to get such astounding performance, economy and durability from an engine used in such a wide range of applications is quite amazing. It is commonplace for a small block to go 200-300,000 miles with little more than oil changes.

mtbscott

And why do people persist in saying that Corvettes don't handle? As noted earlier in this thread, go take a look at the new Corvette thread in our own RL GT3 forum and you will see than many of them also own Vettes as track cars. The ZR1 is a monster by all standards be it dragstrip, the "Ring, road course, etc.
You can prefer a 911, that's why most of the folks here bought one. But to deny the Corvette's performance envelope is just ridiculous.

neanicu

I am not denying its performance. For the money it's great!
Chuck brought the ZR1 up,I was talking about engineering and other things...
In terms of ZR1's handling I wouldn't know,I've never driven one before,but I've read and seen many opinions...they're not exactly bragging its handling capabilities...

chuckbdc

Sorry, but that is just not so. ZR1s lap times tend to be better than any Porsche 911 - other than a Turbo S- so there is plenty of handling in there.

holminator

I have two images of the C6 in mind relative to my old 997 that make me prejudiced on the C7. Neither story involves street racing, which truly is for idiots. The first one involved a C6 driver that was trailing me through the mountains in West "by God" Virginia. As we climbed a mountain at a "good rate" of speed, "a whole, heap-a-mess" of smoke came out of his front bonnet at the top of the mountain as I watched him drift, with no apparent power to the road's shoulder from my rear view mirror. Second, a bunch of sports car owners, with Porsches, Lambos, Ferraris, returned from the Canadian Grand Prix via NY, PA, and so on back to VA and MD. A new ZR-1 was in our pack. The heavens opened up and it rained like crazy. Always love driving the 997 in rain. Fun! Driving in the rain forces you to have serious communication with your car when done at challenging speeds. The ZR-1 struggled to keep up. Driver told me he struggled. Good tires (fairly new Bridgestones), but he said the car did not feel stable at the speed we aimed for on the mostly vacant highways we took. He did the smart thing and backed off. I never felt like I was pushing it in the 997 (and I was nowhere near the speed I would have hit in Germany on a rainy day) and I thought the ZR-1 driver was equal in my driving ability if not better than me. Having driven a base C6 once, I thought it was comparable to the Camaro, not a base 911. Of course, prejudice is not a good thing; I know.

chuckbdc

Vettes skate when there is dew, let alone rain! Only a Viper is scarier.

Mike in CA

A Car and Driver comparison a few months back between a Corvette Grand Sport and a 991S reinforces your comment. C&D found the Porsche to be fast and stable in the cold and rainy test conditions, while the Corvette was virtually undriveable. Unless this new C7 is a huge deprture from all the Corvettes that have gone before, it will be exceptional in some areas and only mediocre in others. By comparison, the 991 may not quite match it on track, but is overall a more complete and satisfying car both dynamically and quality-wise. Whether that's worth the price difference is up to each person and what they want and expect in a sports car, or any car for that matter.