The Corvette XZora will make 1,226 hp.
08-02-2024, 01:39 PM
#21
I am a car junky, not really seeing Maximas in Chicago, where did they all go?
Worked with a guy who had one like 10 years ago.
From what I learned from the local Ferrari dealer, most of their customers want one to look at in their garage, talk about when friends come over and do some point A to point A driving with their significant other after work and then put back in the garage.
Worked with a guy who had one like 10 years ago.
From what I learned from the local Ferrari dealer, most of their customers want one to look at in their garage, talk about when friends come over and do some point A to point A driving with their significant other after work and then put back in the garage.
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QUIKAG (08-02-2024)
08-02-2024, 01:50 PM
#22
My C8 Z51 was $72k new because it was a 1LT with Z51 package, black exhaust tips, and a targa bag or something. No other fluff options. I think the interior is fine and looks like 95% of a 2LT/3LT. Sure, I wouldn't mind heated/cooled seats, and I definitely would like blind spot monitor as you can't see sh*t in the rear quarter of either side, like it's bad. Anyway, it's going to be a fun track toy and it's fun to drive around town, not as much as the BRZ, GR, or Type S, but it's definitely more capable and feels more exotic-y. 
It will definitely be fun on the track when I get it out there.
Yeah, on the C7 front, I really wish I had gotten a C7 ZR1 when they came out near sticker. I just wasn't that impressed initially as it seemed like a slightly juiced Z06. I still think that's basically what it is, didn't feel like a more special motor like the LS9 in the C6 ZR1, but man it's a great overall package and with the 7-speed manual and LT5, it's always going to hold value, especially if Corvette is done with manuals..
It will definitely be fun on the track when I get it out there.Yeah, on the C7 front, I really wish I had gotten a C7 ZR1 when they came out near sticker. I just wasn't that impressed initially as it seemed like a slightly juiced Z06. I still think that's basically what it is, didn't feel like a more special motor like the LS9 in the C6 ZR1, but man it's a great overall package and with the 7-speed manual and LT5, it's always going to hold value, especially if Corvette is done with manuals..
You have a pinnacle Vette with the C6 ZR1. Raw, fast as heck, and timeless design. The C8 is sssooo refined. I met my brother in Bowling Green when he picked up his C8 Z51. Split the drive back and driven it several times since. Amazing car, but it’s too nice. To me it was boring. Drama free. If you close your eyes you’d think you’re in a Caddy. I like my cars like I like my strippers - a little nasty and dangerous.
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jnewtons2k (08-02-2024)
08-03-2024, 02:52 PM
#25
I love the name, it is about time they paid homage to Zora Arkus Duntov.
08-05-2024, 08:27 PM
#26
Pretty sure you've seen Maximas, but not "seen" them. Basically an invisible car (i.e. boring).
Man, they came up with a 1,064hp flat plane twin turbo 5.5L V8 with a pretty damn good mid-engine chassis, cutting edge carbon ceramic brakes, mag 4.0 suspension and they are likely to offer it for well under $200k base. You have to REALLY want that Ferrari, Mac, or Lambo to go that route for A LOT more money now. There are no significant, obvious flaws with the higher end C8. GM finally built a full-blown world class sports car for reasonable money.
That said, the truly rich will park one alongside their existing exotic cars because....they can.
Me personally, I'd rather have a C8 ZR1 and another Escalade V for tree fiddy than an F8, Huracan STO/Technica/whatev, or 720/750S. ZR1 for weekend/track fun and VSlade for pimping around town in total comfort with a bada** exhaust sound.
Man, they came up with a 1,064hp flat plane twin turbo 5.5L V8 with a pretty damn good mid-engine chassis, cutting edge carbon ceramic brakes, mag 4.0 suspension and they are likely to offer it for well under $200k base. You have to REALLY want that Ferrari, Mac, or Lambo to go that route for A LOT more money now. There are no significant, obvious flaws with the higher end C8. GM finally built a full-blown world class sports car for reasonable money.
That said, the truly rich will park one alongside their existing exotic cars because....they can.
Me personally, I'd rather have a C8 ZR1 and another Escalade V for tree fiddy than an F8, Huracan STO/Technica/whatev, or 720/750S. ZR1 for weekend/track fun and VSlade for pimping around town in total comfort with a bada** exhaust sound.
GM has always built world class sports cars, the C5Z back in its day was about as fast as cars got from the factory, and not only did it for much less money, it did it for just 2x the money of an Integra Type R of its period. And so were the C6Z/ZR1. There were only a small handful of cars with any sort of production level that could best it, and certainly couldn't do so with similar reliability and <gasp> practicality, I mean it even got better MPGs than the S2000 in the real world.
The problem though is that the standard has becoming increasingly higher, especially with electrified cars, and GM kept chasing the dragon and now finds itself in this weird arena where value for money isn't the main priority, It's why there are no Michelin starred buffets.
They also had a huge missed opportunity in building the Cadillac prestige by offering it as a Cadillac. This notion that the Corvette name has to be the best thing GM builds is stupid, GM could easily build a hyper exotic MR Zora or whatever and people will understand the Corvettes place in the world. What makes it even more asinine is that GM thinks that they have to beat Ferrari using the Corvette name, when all they need to do is just build the damn car and call it anything that sounds remotely cool. Ford didn't beat Ferrari with a Mustang GT40.
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WolfpackS2k (08-06-2024)
08-06-2024, 05:02 AM
#27
GM has always built world class sports cars, the C5Z back in its day was about as fast as cars got from the factory, and not only did it for much less money, it did it for just 2x the money of an Integra Type R of its period. And so were the C6Z/ZR1. There were only a small handful of cars with any sort of production level that could best it, and certainly couldn't do so with similar reliability and <gasp> practicality, I mean it even got better MPGs than the S2000 in the real world.
The problem though is that the standard has becoming increasingly higher, especially with electrified cars, and GM kept chasing the dragon and now finds itself in this weird arena where value for money isn't the main priority, It's why there are no Michelin starred buffets.
They also had a huge missed opportunity in building the Cadillac prestige by offering it as a Cadillac. This notion that the Corvette name has to be the best thing GM builds is stupid, GM could easily build a hyper exotic MR Zora or whatever and people will understand the Corvettes place in the world. What makes it even more asinine is that GM thinks that they have to beat Ferrari using the Corvette name, when all they need to do is just build the damn car and call it anything that sounds remotely cool. Ford didn't beat Ferrari with a Mustang GT40.
The problem though is that the standard has becoming increasingly higher, especially with electrified cars, and GM kept chasing the dragon and now finds itself in this weird arena where value for money isn't the main priority, It's why there are no Michelin starred buffets.
They also had a huge missed opportunity in building the Cadillac prestige by offering it as a Cadillac. This notion that the Corvette name has to be the best thing GM builds is stupid, GM could easily build a hyper exotic MR Zora or whatever and people will understand the Corvettes place in the world. What makes it even more asinine is that GM thinks that they have to beat Ferrari using the Corvette name, when all they need to do is just build the damn car and call it anything that sounds remotely cool. Ford didn't beat Ferrari with a Mustang GT40.
I do think GM should build a super Cadillac like a heavily updated XLR type car based on the C8 platform with new bodywork and a 'nicer' interior. There are still many people who won't buy a C8 just because it's a Chevy at a Chevy dealer. The Cadillac brand mitigates that to a point, but still some won't do Cadillac either because it's GM and/or 'old people vibe' or whatever.
08-06-2024, 05:41 AM
#28
Supporting the Corvette brand has been important to GM so good on them for the product they put the badge on.
Folks have been waiting for decades for a Zora branded car and they finally have the beast to put that title onto.
Caddy is a mystery to me, seems to be primarily a livery oriented thing with the Escalade these days.
I see an occasional XTwhatever around Chicago.
Modern Caddy sedan sightings around here are also infrequent.
The Lyriq is a rare bird, the only guy I met with one likes it.
The Celestiq is another very bad joke.
The e Convertible Sollei looks cool, kind of a mix of a RR Spectre and previous Phantom Drophead Convertible, but again who is buying that against a Roller (if they actually bring it to market).
Folks have been waiting for decades for a Zora branded car and they finally have the beast to put that title onto.
Caddy is a mystery to me, seems to be primarily a livery oriented thing with the Escalade these days.
I see an occasional XTwhatever around Chicago.
Modern Caddy sedan sightings around here are also infrequent.
The Lyriq is a rare bird, the only guy I met with one likes it.
The Celestiq is another very bad joke.
The e Convertible Sollei looks cool, kind of a mix of a RR Spectre and previous Phantom Drophead Convertible, but again who is buying that against a Roller (if they actually bring it to market).
08-06-2024, 09:09 AM
#29
Supporting the Corvette brand has been important to GM so good on them for the product they put the badge on.
Folks have been waiting for decades for a Zora branded car and they finally have the beast to put that title onto.
Caddy is a mystery to me, seems to be primarily a livery oriented thing with the Escalade these days.
I see an occasional XTwhatever around Chicago.
Modern Caddy sedan sightings around here are also infrequent.
The Lyriq is a rare bird, the only guy I met with one likes it.
The Celestiq is another very bad joke.
The e Convertible Sollei looks cool, kind of a mix of a RR Spectre and previous Phantom Drophead Convertible, but again who is buying that against a Roller (if they actually bring it to market).
Folks have been waiting for decades for a Zora branded car and they finally have the beast to put that title onto.
Caddy is a mystery to me, seems to be primarily a livery oriented thing with the Escalade these days.
I see an occasional XTwhatever around Chicago.
Modern Caddy sedan sightings around here are also infrequent.
The Lyriq is a rare bird, the only guy I met with one likes it.
The Celestiq is another very bad joke.
The e Convertible Sollei looks cool, kind of a mix of a RR Spectre and previous Phantom Drophead Convertible, but again who is buying that against a Roller (if they actually bring it to market).
The rest of the Cadillac stuff XT4/5/6 is meh. I think the electric Escalade should do well. Wife thinks it looks great, so it'll probably sell in decent numbers based on styling and luxury alone. Celestiq, etc. are TBD, but if I'm spending $300-400k+ for a luxury machine, I'm looking at Rolls Royce instead.
08-06-2024, 09:49 AM
#30
I do think value for the money is still a major factor for the Corvette, but they've gone up a price category. Partially that's because even a Mustang GT/Darkhorse, Camaro (RIP), and other electrified cars are so capable. If you're standing still with your performance envelope, you're going to lose. The Corvette team kept saying the C7 was as far as they could take that platform due to traction and dynamic limitations. Imagine the LT7 in a front engine/rear drive platform. It wouldn't even be driveable. Spin city in the first 4 gears easy. So, for the money, the C8 can run with equivalent higher-end cars with minimal deficits.
I do think GM should build a super Cadillac like a heavily updated XLR type car based on the C8 platform with new bodywork and a 'nicer' interior. There are still many people who won't buy a C8 just because it's a Chevy at a Chevy dealer. The Cadillac brand mitigates that to a point, but still some won't do Cadillac either because it's GM and/or 'old people vibe' or whatever.
I do think GM should build a super Cadillac like a heavily updated XLR type car based on the C8 platform with new bodywork and a 'nicer' interior. There are still many people who won't buy a C8 just because it's a Chevy at a Chevy dealer. The Cadillac brand mitigates that to a point, but still some won't do Cadillac either because it's GM and/or 'old people vibe' or whatever.
This is completely anecdotal, but I remember when the S550 came out in 2014 (2015 MY), I saw them everywhere almost instantly, as well as all the prior models. I don't see a ton of the new ones, and when I do, it's not a V8 variant. Only on the weekends in the mornings when the enthusiasts are out I may be a few, but generally speaking I don't see alot. I now know 3 people who bought Mach1s and sold them in under two years, great cars, not worth the price. From what I've seen, theyre getting discounted, but I'm sure Ford is going to blame slowing demand and not their obnoxious price hikes and questionable restyling as the culprit because I guarantee you if say... Honda or Toyota made a FR coupe with a V8 for 35k, the markups would be ridiculous.
I recognize that the performance standard has gone up, but look at the majority of dedicated track enthusiasts, they're not buying the highest power thing they could find, they're buying things that run and has parts with enough performance. Because in organized racing, you run in classes, so you don't need a vette if you're just running with Miatas. And that's the problem, people fall in love with track times when 1) they'll never go to the track let alone regularly compete and 2) they're incapable of driving those cars at full speed.
That's the problem with chasing the dragon, at what point then does the Corvette then become an AWD, automatic, hybrid, MR car that's priced similarly to homes that's unrecognizable to other Corvettes... oh we're at that point now. GM just doesn't learn, they constantly chase being the best that they forgot what made them popular to begin with- value, an aspirational vehicle for the working man.
This is anecdotal, but GM failed in generating the interest with their intended consumer. Sure, they're selling, but to folks who buy the most exotic looking car their credit/lifestyle could afford, they're more likely to own a pair of Loubatons than they are Sparco shoes. Every person I know that bought a C8 all sold them already, and the ones that kept them don't know how to drive stick (and are already looking at Porsches).
Meanwhile, Porsche has a waitlist on the GT4RS, people are still upset with Lotus with the slow release of the Emira. The crowd GM was aiming for isn't paying attention to C8s.
GM doesn't get it, naming it a Corvette is actually a detriment, people in that price category don't care as much about value as they are with ownership experience, meaning the driving fun and just the ownership lifestyle. Yeah it may be able to beat my Lambo, but I've got a Lambo, and it looks like this and sounds like this. Yeah your vette alphabet soup may beat my 458 Speciale, but it doesn't have the driving experience the Speciale have.
Because while the standard of performance continues to rise, the perceivable pleasure of driving doesn't once you get to a certain point. Once you hit 60 in the 3s you're so reliant on environmental factors to get any discernible difference, plus the driving behavior is so neutered on street level speeds so that you need the drama of the noise those Euro exotics make to make them exciting just driving around.
That's total BS that they can't engineer a manual transmission into it, they're just choosing not to. A stripped down flat plane C8 with a manual I think would be absolutely awesome. But instead we're getting another hybrid numbers chaser that's priced in a realm where if it's not the obliterating the competition (it's not), why would I want it?
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WolfpackS2k (08-07-2024)