groundhog

Not so sure about that - my 720S is 500 lbs lighter fully fuelled and my RS is 400 lbs lighter. The 720S is a handmade carbon fibre tub and the RS has a lot of carbon fibre and magnesium in it. Light can be done two ways (a) "exotic" materials e.g. Mclaren or (b) small e.g. Lotus.

In fact the two hardest things to do on modern cars is genuine light-weighting and genuine meaningful aero. Keep in mind the C8 is putting out a lot of torque which means its putting out a lot of heat and requires a gearbox that can handle that as well = lots of cooling and cheap strong gearboxes tend to be heavy.

The C8 looks like a great effort but its still built to a price point

996SPECticle

Anyway, the merge was fun to see which sub groups of members complained or complimented Corvettes in different ways. The only thing close in chatter volume has to be the GT350.
Variety is the spice of life.


edit: Nice housekeeping as well

Nm2far

Good article

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/here-s...-ar186096.html

Caustic

As others have said, this car was built to a price point. It would be hard to reach a lower weight with extensive use of exotic materials like carbon fiber and still have a $60k price point. But is it really heavy compared to modern sport vehicles?

Porsche 991 Turbo - 3550 lbs
Audi R8 - 3650 lbs
Nissan GTR - 3850 lbs

None of these cars are slouches, and none of these cars are at the price point of a C8. Hopefully, when the Z06 comes out, the cockpit and other parts will probably be made of some different exotic material than the aluminum they used to for the base model (which they did for the C6) in order to keep the weight down, and the price will reflect it.

groundhog

^^^ fair point but note the example you quote are AWD and the R8 and GT-R are very old designs now. My Mclaren is really a better comparison for a mid-engined high performance car and that comes in close to 3200 lbs in the real world fully fuelled. So the C8 does look heavy in a mid-engined RWD analysis. Light weight and meeting modern safety standards is a costly exercise.

My gut feel is there will be a lot lessons learned from the C8 and it may well prove the C9 is the one to have.

hf1

“The weight savings alone goes to show just how hard engineers worked to keep the car as lightweight and performance-oriented as possible.”

At least three items from the list described weight savings “engineering” done for the C8. So if they didn’t do all this magic, the car was going to weigh, what, 4000lb? It’s a rwd 2-seater, for crying out loud...

3600lb is 800lb more than a 987 Boxster Spyder, another midengine, rwd, 2-seater. That’s almost extra FIVE grown men flying into a corner together with you in the car.

Dethsupp0rt

Considering those cars have AWD, yes. The exterior dimensions are actually quite large. It's really wide, and the doors are really big, which worries me about it fitting in the garage with the better half's car.

spdracerut

Really the only knock about Vettes have been their interior quality. Which has just about zero relevance in a dedicated track car. I think the C8 may be the bargain track car of all time. Mid-engine, lots of power, DCT for those going for fastest lap times, what's not to love? The same money only buys a 300hp base 718. Really the only reason to get a 718 for a track car vs. the C8 is if one absolutely has to have a manual.

2slow2speed

FWIW, one of the benchmarks used for the C8 was the F458, curb weight around 3450-3500lbs depending on options.

The pictures of the front and rear aluminum sub frames of the C8 seems to indicate that they will be quite robust, wouldn’t surprise me if they are designed to withstand substantial loads. Double wishbones front and rear, stereo system alone probably adds 70lbs worth of weight. Non forged wheels, solid brake disc rotors, etc,

The quoted 2800 lbs number for the 987 Spyder, is probably for a car with radio delete, bucket seats and PCCB’s and the optional Lithium battery. Add at a minimum a stereo and a 3rd radiator and associated coolant and piping and that car goes up on weight. Add PDK that will be some additional weight, etc, etc. so a more realtistic number is 2900lbs-2950lbs.

sithot

Cut to 5:40

"Driving an early 911 is an experience on it’s own:
It’s 1000 kilos. Today we’re driving 1,600 and the 500 horsepower that we use today feel different to the 130 we drove at that time because the extra weight, the 60% more weight is not really compensated by the extra horsepower because there is no compensation for extra weight. There I nothing better than saving weight in an automobile."

Alois Ruf

groundhog

Lotus and Colin Chapman - but in a modern context it's much harder because of safety standards. Secondly and unfortunately HP sells although it's rarely used.

hf1

I agree. That’s about where my manual 987.1 Boxster S is in weight. Still 600lb, not a chump change. On the other hand, I drove a Lotus Elise on my backroads and still preferred the Boxster even with 800lb more weight so there’s that too. Best to wait and drive the C8 before passing judgment.

hf1

Truth. HP is irrelevant when you’re flying into and through a corner — the most fun part of driving, for me.

sithot

Agree 110%

More fun to drive a s l o w car fast than a fast car slow.

K-A

I can't stand Vettes or their.. ahem.. "demographical reputations" but the C8 looks pretty amazing. My issues are "how much GM'ness will it have in person," and that horrid corporate rear which looks straight out of the Camaro rental fleet. Otherwise I am VERY intrigued and impressed, and excited for the car. The only thing keeping me tepid is knowing that I likely won't fit my head into it well enough (tall torso). I also didn't realize how MASSIVE the car is. 183" in length and 76.xx" in width makes it about as long as a 3 Series and as wide as a Macan. Also it's disconcertingly heavy.

It's a different car than the 911. The 991's timelessly smooth/organic curves and form are very much my taste, but I would certainly have a lot of fun in an extroverted, 500 HP N/A V8, at least for a bit. This Corvette definitely changes the game.

Also, in this age of generic 3.0TT's and 4.0TT's all sounding and feeling the same, showing the same torque curves, sucked of soul by F/I, I give respect to GM (and I shudder to say that about a criminally negligent and garbage company for the most part.... but this goes to their performance engineers and non bean counters or marketers) for putting a naturally aspirated, free breathing 6.2L in there. Means a lot, especially today. Will be eager to check it out.