fast1

My first Vette was a 1970 model and it was a piece of junk. I bought a 911 a few years later and I thought I was in heaven. Although my 911 cost considerably more than my Vette, the 911 was far and away a better car in every measurable way, with the exception of staight line acceleration. Although I don't own a C6, I have had the opportunity of driving one for an extended period of time and they are a blast to drive. On the street there's nothing like having lots of torque. Moreover, the C6 that I drove had around 20K miles on the odometer and it was absolutely rattle free. The Vette has come a long way, and it is certainly a worthy competitor to the 997, especially when price is considered.

BruceP

The challenge with these discussions is always how to benchmark 'faster' (sorry if this was covered elsewhere in the thread... didn't read all seven pages). A lot of bench racers in Europe like to compare lap times on the Nordscheife because of the varied terrain and road-like character of the course. Here's a list of the fastest (without prejudice to the source). It's kind of interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordsch...test_lap_times

dimnslow

7.39 - Porsche 997 GT3, 415 PS/1395 kg, (quote sport auto 05/06)
7:48 - Porsche 997 GT3, 415 PS/1440kg (sport auto 07/06)
8:28 - Porsche 993 C2
8:39 - Honda S2000
8:42 - Lotus Exige

Oh wow, I would have thought the Exige will have been much faster around the twisties.

What's up with the two 997 GT3 times, removing 45kgs makes that much of a difference?

Mike Murphy

So what constitutes a "Production Car?" The Radical SR8 doesn't 'look' or 'sound' production. I can go to any dealership and buy a Z06 or 997, but what about these Radicals and some other cars?

BruceP

Maybe they're 'homologation specials'.

Anyway, the data is a bit of a free-for-all. Different drivers, no control for track conditions. It's just fun to see how cars stack up as 'fast' when you throw in real world circumstances like curves and whoopdedoos and who's doing the driving. Apparently, the magic bragging rights number is 8 minutes. I think it's pretty cool that someone came within a few seconds of that in a plain ol' 996 C2.

roberga

dimnslow: the exige is a great car but compared to the GT3 and 415 hp, no contest. My GT3 has been in the shop for 6 weeks now so during a lapping day I rented an Exige. Fun momentum car, reminds my of early 911s.