texas911

We should give GM credit for keeping the Corvette alive and competitive. The Z06 is a monster, there is no doubt. This type of competition is what will keep Porsche from resting on its laurels. As for the Z06, until it gets a rear seat, I'm not comparing it to my 997.

Deanski

Being a former Vette owner ('69 L-88) I can say that this new Z06 is as close to the L-88 as you can get. Hey, it even has a radio! (L-88 was radio delete).
After driving a Z06, they are correct as to the heat inside the cockpit, gets really warm and probably hot as snot in summer. Sure, it has loads of torque and HP. It handles well.. BUT steering is terrible. Feels you're driving a much larger luxury car than a sports car. Also, after running it hard or even modest, park it and then you will also smell the odor of burning/melting plastic. Smells like your model cars when burned. One member who has a Z06 and a C2S said the same thing after parking it in his garage. He had to open the windows the smell was so strong!

The interior is not what it should be and shouts GM loudly. If you can get over the cheapo interior and the noise and heat, then this is the car for you. I can't imagine driving it over a long trip as I think I'd be tired and glad to get out of the heat and noise (yes it's loud too and lots of road noise).

Porsche has a much more refined interior, much better handling and steering feel now. Besides, you can order your Porsche the way YOU want it. Try that with a Z06.

Z06 is a great car for the $$ and if you're an old muscle-car person then this is just what you'd want. Loads of torque and HP to remind you of the good 'ol days of cheap gas, big block Chevys and loud cars. Now with better handling and more techno stuff, the Z06 is a great bargin for those looking to rekindle the past.

Ah, so what if this or that can beat a Porsche? Do you love your car? DO you enjoy the thrill of driving it and the feeling going around twisties? Then ignore the article (MT seems very pro GM anyway) and enjoy a well engineered car that never will loose it's appeal!

Regards,
Deanski

Soulteacher

Correct. Remember that magazines need advertising revenues to survive (the cover price mostly serves segmentation purposes). So chances are that whoever buys the most advertising space, will be treated more favorably by the publishers. This is not just true for car mags, but also for computer, fashion, home & garden, food etc. magazines.

AeroSmith

Or the X51.

scycle2020

very good point....but what is MT going to do if and when GM does belly up???

ame546

No offense to you Deankski, because I highly respect your posts on the forum for my short time here, but in general the Corvette is a white trash car. Comparing the 997 s to the Z06 is not much of comparison to me. I respect the car's muscle power, but most corvette owners wouldn't even know what to do in a Porsche. That being said performance-wise they're both great cars. One just defines your image differently than the other.

MMD

"Deadliest rivals?" What inflammatory BS.

Simply put: Corvette is cheap. Porsche is the best.

Will take 50 years of media propaganda ("deadliest rivals" indeed!) to change that perception.

Deanski

None taken! I agree that the Z06 is quite inferrior to a Porsche. As I said, steering was horrible. Sure, it goes fast, handles better than most other Vettes, but let's face it. It's no Porsche in quality and engineering!

I just could not get over that smell too when I drove back to the dealer and parked it. Lots of road noise from tires as well. Not something to take on a long drive I'd say. I have a Z06 owner close to me (older model) and he wondered why I went to the C2S instead of the Z06. I just couldn't break his heart to tell him what I thought.

Regards,
Deanski

cvazquez

I agree with School Teacher... if you place the name Porsche on the front of ANY magazine it sells BIG!!!!

But you know what; I am not going to subscribe to any magazine unless it’s a Pro-Porsche mag!

ultimate

In a prior version, when they said the 'vette is a better buy than the 911, they had pictures of previous years of the two cars - in each instance, the vette looked like an old car, the porsche looked like a very desirable vehicle (ok, maybe tht primarily shows a bias, but looking at '70's and '80's versions of the two, the market also seems to bear that out)

Matt(inMA)

It’s like comparing apples and oranges or F1 and NASCAR. I don’t think there is much value in these types of comparisons with the exception of the “press” it creates for a magazine.

JohnnyBahamas

I think that article was funny! I mean, how can a mag compare a huge V8 to a flat 6 and not make note of the fact that the flat 6 deserves a gold star for even being considered? Much less actually giving a damn good race out of it. It's just a hilarious over sight.

I'm still doing my own comparison, in fact, I had both cars out yesterday back to back again. The Z06 is a epic highway beater... there are no four wheeled vehicles that you can't pass, even going up a steep grade, in a very short distance. It's so explosively torquey that it is goofy run. And, at the price for 505BHP / 470FPT, one can't come close. I plan to highway thrash it this summer. I couldn't do that to a 997tt or an M6. Those cars are machines you want to treat well. And damn, the general classification of personalities that worship these Z06 things... they are some close minded, mean spirited, repressed souls. Like bitter old men who've been battered by life.

But, every time I get out of the C2S I literally say out loud, "Twice the car, two-thirds the power". The Porsche just DRIVES better. Performance is NOT simply power... if it was we'd all be driving '74 Gremlins with huge crate motors in them. The Porsche is just so much MORE FUN.

I hope that the magazines and the Chevy's of the world just keep pushing Porsche until the monster that lives somewhere in the Porsche factory gets pissed enough to change for the better. Like, putting a damn big motor into the Cayman, call it a Cayman RS. Then you watch... all the mags will suddenly leave the GM products out of that comparison.

Come on Porsche! Make the Cayman a beast!

NITEALB

despite having to agree that the z06 is a terrific performer, especially when taking the money in account. just a though, but aren't most amercian published mags sponsored by GM? seems to me that many such magazines have ads indicating GM as a major sponsor. surely some bias creeps into these "objective" reviews. what i'm saying is that it maybe in the editor's interests to gloss over the weakness of the sponsor's car and highlight any flaws in a competitors car.

pcar964

You'll have to excuse me, but what makes you think the 997S will out-handle the Z06? I think you'll find the opposite is true.

pcar964

That's the funniest thing I've read all day, thanks for the laugh! The Z06 will out-brake the 997 all day long, and the drivetrain in the Z06 is so bulletproof unlike the 997's.

You're making silly assumptions based on the past. Those out of date assumptions don't mean a thing when comparing these new cars.

If you want to call the Vette unrefined, or compare the driving feel and say the Porsche is better, fine. But you're a fool if you believe the 997S can outperform the Z06. The Z06's only competition from Porsche will be from the new GT3, and that will even be a close one.