Vette Polls: Would You Buy A New, Factory-Built Retro Corvette?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.20.11

If Chevrolet offered brand new C1, C2, and C3 Retro Corvettes, would you buy one?

Imagine if you could buy a NEW one of these babies!

Take our Poll at the bottom of this post.
The other day I posted a story featuring a collection of make-believe Chevy billboards titled, “Billboards We’d Like to See”. (check it out HERE) Without really thinking deeply about it, my subtitle was, “If Chevrolet was to make retro Corvettes, would billboards such as these help sell cars?” The subtitled popped into my head because as I was looking at the mocked up Corvette billboards, I was struck by just how beautiful the C1, C2, and C3 cars were.

Now this would never, ever, ever happen – but it’s fun to imagine. The basic idea would be this. Start with two Corvettes from each of the first three generations. Let’s say a ‘57 and a ‘62 for the C1 group, a ‘63 and a ‘67 for the C2 Sting Ray group, and a ‘69 and a ‘78 for the C3 group. The idea would be to take the original designs and update the drivetrains, wheels, tires, and brakes, safety requirements, and interior materials and creature comforts. Aside from modern paint colors, wheels, and tires, they would look very much like their original counterparts. They need not be quasi race cars, loaded to the gills with hi-tech hardware. Just brand new, modernized, old-style Corvettes. Sound interesting? So, let’s look at each component.

You could get modern kicks, on Route 66!

Engine & Drive Train: Each car could be powered by an LS3 engine, coupled with a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. Suspensions should use essentially the original design layout, but with modern shocks, correct anti-sway bars, bushings, steering, etc. The frames should be patterned after the originals, but strengthened in all the known areas of weakness and modified to accept wider tires.

Wheels, Tires, & Brakes: The modified frames could accept tires with modern widths. The wheel diameters should stay at 15-inches so that the wheel/tire proportion looks period correct in the wheelwells. Wheels should be spun-cast aluminum and period styled. C1s could get 15×8 Halibrand styled wheels. C2 and C3 cars could get 15×8-inch spun-cast aluminum Rally wheels or finned knock-odd-style wheels. Brakes should be modern C6 base model brakes.

Could there be such a thing as "too sweet"? This might be it!

Interior: The dash layouts should stay true to their original design, but with upgraded electronic gauges, Bose sound system, airbags, modern leather bucket seats (the original C2 and C2 buckets are really just narrow bench seats), A/C, electric windows and side mirrors, and Nav system. These are cruisers, so the emphasis is on comfort and amenities.

Body: The C1 and C2 cars should get small ‘67-’69 Z-28-style chin spoilers. The C2 cars need a slight forward rake to keep the front end down at higher speeds, All of the cars need to be slightly lowered too. There should be optional hoods. Headlights should be modern LED units but styled in period correct housings. Continue reading “Vette Polls: Would You Buy A New, Factory-Built Retro Corvette?” →

Corvette Billboards We’d Like To See

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.18.11

If Chevrolet was to make retro Corvettes, would billboards such as these help sell cars?

As a “car person” I’m sure you get car related emails from your friends too. The other day my good friend Bill Fackelman sent me a collection of made up images that “should” be Chevy billboards and several were Corvettes. You might have seen a few of these, but they’re still pretty neat.

Here's a REAL Corvette billboard. Part of Chevrolet's "Chevrolet Runs Deep" ad campaign.

Chevrolet has never gotten too much into billboard advertising for Corvettes. It’s understandable, as in the big world of General Motors, the Corvette is a very low-volume car. In 1953 when the Corvette came out Continue reading “Corvette Billboards We’d Like To See” →

Vette Videos: How Hi-Tech Z06 & ZR1 Aluminum Frames Are Made

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.17.11

What was once considered pie-in-the-sky and experimental, is now regular production!

To see the much larger version of the Z06/ZR1 chassis, just click the above image

Aluminum has been the automotive industry’s magic material for over 60 years. Corvette engineers have been thinking about an all-aluminum engine and drive train for the Vette since the 1957 Q-Corvette proposal. While it took until 1997 to get there, the engineering department seeded aluminum parts whenever they could.

Nearly 40 years ago, Corvette engineering decided to explore an all-aluminum Corvette. Everything but the tires, plastics, wiring, glass, and other essentials was to be aluminum. Working with Reynolds Aluminum Company, the experimental XP-895 was debuted to the automotive press in 1973. The chassis design was the same as the experimental 2-rotor Corvette, but power was supplied by a 400-CID small-block engine. The completed aluminum car weighed 400-pounds less than the steel bodied XP-892 Wankel-powered experimental. While the styling of the aluminum “Corvette” was interesting, the only design element that connected it to anything Corvette was the aft portion of the roof, from the B-pillar back. Overall, it did not scream “CORVETTE!” but then again, the all-aluminum car wasn’t supposed to be a styling exercise for the C4 Corvette, it was a feasibility study.

The B-pillar roof section of the car looks like a Corvette, but not much else.

Fast forward to the 2006 Z06 and its aluminum chassis. One of the biggest challenges with an aluminum chassis is the strength of materials issue. Lightweight aluminum is soft, so there were interesting shape and construction problems that had to be worked out to mass-produce such a chassis. While it is true that the Z06 wasn’t the first car to use an aluminum chassis (many hand-made exotic cars had aluminum chassis) the Z06 was the first “mass produced” car to have an all-aluminum chassis, engine, and suspension. The net result to that the 2012 Z06 weighs about the same as a C2 mid-year Corvette… with nearly double the horsepower as a base model C2. That’s progress for you. Continue reading “Vette Videos: How Hi-Tech Z06 & ZR1 Aluminum Frames Are Made” →

CorvetteReport.com Exclusive Interview: A Chat With Joel “Mr. Motion” Rosen

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.14.11

For real, authorized Baldwin Motion Supercars are BACK! We go bench racing with the original “Mr. Motion.”

Note: Joel Rosen is the proud owner of the very first of the NEW Baldwin Motion Camaros. Be sure to check out the slide show of Mr. Motion’s new ride!)

The original Mr. Motion and the new Mr. Motion. Rosen takes delivery of the very first "new" Baldwin Motion Camaro from Haward Tanner.

Little did Joel Rosen know in 1960 when he bought Neclan Service Station in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, that over 50 years later, people would be writing about him and going to car shows featuring his creations. Motion Performance was officially born in 1963 and Rosen had a string of successful drag cars of his own, plus many cars that he super tuned. He relocated the shop from Brooklyn to the community of Baldwin on Long Island, on Sunrise Highway in 1966. The following year, Chevrolet unleashed their answer to Ford’s red hot Mustang – the Camaro.

Rosen pitched to Baldwin Chevrolet’s Ed Simonin a new way for buyers to get a brand new, turn key “super” muscle car, with a proven, reliable setup – ready to rock! By 1968 the full “Fantastic Five” lineup of cars was established, featuring Phase III SS-427 versions of the Chevy Biscayne, Nova, Chevelle, Camaro, and Corvette. For just $3,495 you could buy the ultimate street sleeper, the SS-427 Biscayne. Or, if your POCKETS were really deep, for $6,995.85 (an enormous amount of cash beck then) you could get the Phase III SS-427 Corvette. Each car was custom made to order, so every car was slightly different. What’a heady time to be into the high performance street scene.

Here's Mr. Motion, circa 1971. Groovy, Man!

As “they” say, the rest is history, and since you wouldn’t be here if you already weren’t familiar with the Baldwin Motion story, we don’t need to retell the entire story. Mr. Motion is now semi-retired and living the good life in warm, sunny Florida. With the Baldwin Motion brand back in action and in very good hands, thanks to his relationship with Howard Tanner, Redline Motorsports in Schenectady, and DeNooyer Chevrolet, Albany, New York.

I thought the Baldwin Motion fans would enjoy hearing from the original Mr. Motion, Joel Rosen. So, one evening in early July 2011, Joel and I had an interesting conversation. Here goes…

Scott – How did the new Baldwin Motion deal come about?

Joel – Well, it was a little bit of a bumpy start, but we turned it into a very positive deal. DeNooyer Chevrolet and Howard Tanner had been marketing Howard’s “HTR” Camaros and Corvettes for a while. It was kind of like what I was doing with Baldwin Chevrolet back in the day. DeNooyer and Tanner were building new Chevy supercars, ala the Phase III cars. A friend of ours contacted us letting us know that these guys in upstate New York that were using modified versions one of Marty Schorr’s old Baldwin Motion ads – WANTED! – in their advertising.

I didn’t know who they were but when I learned what they were doing, we worked out a deal for DeNooyer and Tanner to work with me and build and market Baldwin-Motion Gen V 427 & 454 Camaros. They even painted up the front showroom windows the same way we did at the Baldwin Chevrolet dealership. Just like that famous photo with “Fantastic Five” on the windows. It was pretty cool. And part of the deal was that I would be able to order Phase III 427-SC Camaro #01.

I did a lot of research on Howard and DeNooyer and must say that they have my full respect. Howard can do anything with modern performance cars, knows the electronics such that he can build the engines to specific horsepower levels, then adjust the electronics to get the car‘s emissions right. We couldn’t do any of that back in our day. They didn’t even have computers controlling fuel and spark. We were just told that we couldn’t remove ANY emissions devices. A lot’s changed. Continue reading “CorvetteReport.com Exclusive Interview: A Chat With Joel “Mr. Motion” Rosen” →

Vette Videos: Visit Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant… On Your Computer!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.13.11
Check out the state-of-the-art Bowling Green Corvette factory on “Ultimate Factories.”

Back in the olden days, you know, pre-Bowling Green, if you wanted to buy a Corvette, you simply went to your friendly local Chevrolet dealer and bought your car. While some Corvette buyers may have been aware that their Corvette was built in St. Louis, most couldn’t have cared less, and were more focused on the experience of owning and driving their Corvette, rather than where it was assembled.

All Corvettes from 1953 to 1980 were built in the old St. Louis assembly plant. If you go back and read early road tests from the ‘60s and ‘70s you’ll see a consistent complaint – spotty to poor build quality. Some cars were built very well, most okay, and too many not good at all. It was a time when you didn’t want a “Monday car” for obvious reasons. Owners and magazine writers complained and GM listened. By ‘77 GM started looking for a new Corvette facility. Four location candidates were identified: Waco, Texas, Wichita, Kansas, Montgomery, Alabama, and Bowling Green, Kentucky. The little town of Bowling Green, Kentucky  won the contest after granting GM some serious tax breaks.

Once the deal was signed, GM had just 15 months to convert the old Chrysler AirTemp plant into a state-of-the-art assembly plant, ONLY for Corvettes. Floor space was enlarged to a million square feet – about 22 football fields. This move on GM’s part put to rest all concerns as to how serious GM was about building Corvettes. On June 1, 1981, Kentucky Governor John Brown drove the very first Bowling Green-built Corvette off the assembly line. (I wonder how much THIS car will go for at auction some day?) This was arguably one of THE most important developments in Corvette history. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Visit Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant… On Your Computer!” →

Another Chevrolet-built Custom Corvette – The Bob Wingate FS&O 1967 427 Corvette

Published on by Scott2 Comments

Dateline: 10.12.11

Possibly the ONLY factory-custom Corvette for a non-executive Chevrolet employee.

The last two days we’ve been telling you about the two factory-custom Corvettes built for Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. As if the customized ‘64 Roadster for Semon wasn’t enough, Mrs. Knudsen may have asked, “Bunkie, where’s my Corvette?” This is total humorous speculation on my part, but one “could” imagine such a conversation. Regardless, they are stunningly beautiful cars and actually, there’s another Knudsen Corvette we’ll be sharing with you soon.

The special custom cars for GM’s top honchos has been for decades a low-key topic and were it not for several of these cars going to auction, we most likely wouldn’t know about them at all. But it seems that not all GM customs were for executives. Of course, we’ll never know for certain how many customs were built and for whom, but here’s one that went to the top Corvette salesman back in the mid-’60s. In the world of Chevrolet sales, Bob Wingate was known as “Mr Corvette” because he sold more Vettes than anyone else. This is an amazing story of achievement, reward, loss, recovery, and a beauty of a restoration. I covered this car in my VETTE Magazine Illustrated Corvette Series No. 158, back in Winter of 2010. Enjoy! – Scott

Here’s the story…
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 158 – 1967 FS&O 427 Corvette: “Bob Wingate’s V.I.P. Special”

Special thanks to VETTE Magazine and Wayne Ellwood. To read the feature story on VetteWeb, click the above image.

In the ‘50s and ’60s, GM had a system for taking care of its top people. Presidents, VPs, high-level managers, and other VIP types often got new cars that were specially made vehicles. These were generically called “SO” – for “Special Order” or “Shop Order” – cars. Another term was “F&SO,” for “Fleet & Special Order.” About 25 to 50 or so of these cars were made each year. However, it was unusual for a car salesman to get one. But Bob Wingate of Clippinger Chevrolet, in Covina, California wasn’t just a good car salesman. He was “Mr. Corvette.”

Wingate started at Clippinger Chevrolet in 1955 as a prep guy – the fellow who cleans the cars prior to delivery. His favorite cars to prep were Corvettes. After a few years, he worked his way into sales, and before long, he was selling more Corvettes than anyone else in California. What got Chevrolet sales managers’ attention was when Wingate ordered 100 ‘62 Corvettes for the dealership. Chevrolet had only sold 10,939 Corvettes in ’61, so they wondered, “Who is this guy?” Upper management was reluctant to send that many cars, but Chevy’s Joe Pike believed in Wingate and was not disappointed. Wingate became the highest volume Corvette salesman in ‘62 and by ’66 had sold more Corvettes than any other salesman. Chevrolet thanked Wingate by giving him the Legion of Leaders award. His reputation even got the attention of Ford’s Lee Iacocca, who offered him a job doing the same kind of work for Mustang and Cobra sales. He declined, and when Joe Pike found out, Wingate got a raise and an F&SO Corvette. He was told, “Pick what you want.” Continue reading “Another Chevrolet-built Custom Corvette – The Bob Wingate FS&O 1967 427 Corvette” →

Vette Videos: Mrs Knudsen’s Ride – Arguably the World’s ONLY Hot Pink 1964 396 Corvette!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.11.11
Chevrolet’s general manager Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen had some very cool perks. So did Mrs. Knudsen!

Special thanks to Jeffy Heasley for the photos. You can visit Jerry site at www.JerryHeasey.com/, or just click the above image.

Yesterday we told you about Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen’s factory custom ‘64 Blue Fire Mist Corvette Coupe. Well, what a NICE husband Semon must have been! Here’s the ‘64 Corvette Bunkie got for his misses. (I know, what’a guy!) What’s not known is if Mrs. Knudsen said, “Semon, so where’s MY Corvette?” or if he just surprised her one day. I’ll vote that he surprised her one day.

This is another example of what the GM Design Center was capable of creating. In retrospect GM “could” have spun off a little boutique business offering customized luxury V.I.P. versions of their top cars, but that’s just a bench racing fantasy of mine. Florence Knudsen’s Corvette Sting Ray was just dripping with special features and some interesting preproduction features.
This car was once part of former Chevrolet dealer, Bob McDorman’s very large Corvette collection. In November 2010, 150 of McDorman’s collection of Corvettes were auctioned off by Mecum Auctions for a total of $4,599,000. Bunkie Knudsen’s Blue Fire Mist ‘64 Corvette Convertible went for $400,000 and Mrs. Knudsen’s ‘64 Corvette Coupe went for 280,000. A slide show of Jerry Heasley photos and a video are below. Here’s a list of the production options that were on the car, custom features, and hand-made fabricated parts.

Special thanks to Jeffy Heasley for the photos. You can visit Jerry site at www.JerryHeasey.com/, or just click the above image.

Too often, cars such as this are bought and sold over and over to the point of becoming a derelict. This is what happened to the beautiful Bob Wingate FS&O 427 ‘67 Corvette. When the current owner bought the car, it was an abused hulk of what was once an awesome automobile. We’ll be covering the Wingate car tomorrow.

 

 

 

Here are the features of Florence Knudsen’s customized 1964 Corvette.

Factory Production Options:

* AM/FM radio with power antenna.
* Air conditioning.
* Telescope steering column and teak wood steering wheel. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Mrs Knudsen’s Ride – Arguably the World’s ONLY Hot Pink 1964 396 Corvette!” →

Bunkie’s Ride – Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen’s Factory Custom 1964 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.10.11

Being the general manager of a GM division is hard work, but it sure had its perks!

Special “Thanks!” to Mid American for the beautiful photos! To visit their site, just click the above image.

(Slide show at the bottom of this post)
Back on October 2, 2011 we told you about what would have been Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen’s  99th birthday. I don’t know if the GM Design Center still does customs, but back in the glory days, one of the perks of being an executive was that you could get a GM car built just for you. I don’t know if the executives actually “designed” their cars or if the GM Design Center guys just “had at it.” (Okay Mr. Knudsen, what color would you like?”) It’s an interesting and very overlooked part of GM’s history. What’s not overlooked is when these cars go on the auction block or are on display at shows.

Kundsen’s GM-customized ‘64 Corvette coupe is now part of Mike Yeager’s Mid America Motorworks “MY Garage” collection of cars, and will be on display at the Mid America booth (#24297) at the 2011 SEMA Show, November 1-4, 2011, in Vas Vegas. (Yes, you can sing a little “Viva Las Vegas” if you have to) Mid America is showing the Knudsen Corvette to showcase their ability to expertly replicate parts for specialty cars through their Performance Choice services.

The Knudsen 1964 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe is just drop dead gorgeous and includes the following special custom features:

* Fire Frost Blue Cadillac paint (same as John Mecum’s grand Sport) over a specially prepared body.
* 327/365 hp engine and original drive train.
* Custom hood with deeper vents. Continue reading “Bunkie’s Ride – Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen’s Factory Custom 1964 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe” →

Corvette Pace Car Files: 1986 Indy 500 Pace Car Corvette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.7.11
A Look Back at the Most Common and Overlooked Corvette Pace Car 

1986 was a banner year for Corvette fans with the return of the roadster. The ‘70s was an awful time for performance cars and “fun” cars in general. Between new strict emission controls, sky rocketing gasoline prices (all the way up to 50¢ a gallon! in ‘73), reduced performance, and increased safety concerns, it was not a good time. Convertibles also went down the drain too. Beginning in the Fall of ‘75 with the ‘76 model, there were no more Corvette roadsters. After 22 years, the Corvette Roadster was dead.

So in ‘85 when it was announced that the roadster would be returning, Corvette fans couldn’t be happier. But unlike the olden days when a convertible Corvette cost LESS than a coupe (the ‘75 convertible cost $6,550 and the coupe cost $260 more than the roadster!), the ‘86 Corvette convertible cost an additional $5,005! Unlike the C2 and C3 chassis and body structure, the C4 was not originally designed to be a topless car. Coupe to convertible conversions usually have the characteristic cowl shake and sometimes ride more like wiggle wagons where the driver can actually see the dash shake on bumpy twisty roads. The solution for the C4 was to add a large X-brace to stiffen the chassis.

The second piece of big news for ‘86 was that a Corvette would pace the Indy 500 for the second time. Retired General Chuck Yeager was enjoying celebrity status as a result of the book and movie, “The Right Stuff.” But Chevrolet was still smarting from the heavy criticism over the ‘78 Corvette Pace Car debacle and seemed to go in the opposite direction. Rather than producing a set number of pace car relicas, ALL ‘86 Corvette convertibles were designated as a “Pace Car Replica” and came with dealer or customer applied decals for the doors. Many said, “Why bother.”

By the end of the year, 7,315 of the 35,109 Corvettes were convertibles (20%), all considers “pace cars” regardless of the color of the car. The actual Indy 500 Pace Cars were all yellow and 732 yellow convertibles were sold for the year. No special embroidery, wheel centers, stripes, spoilers… just a set of decals. Consequently, of the six Corvette pace car replicas offered from ‘78 to ‘08, the ‘86 model is the least valuable. Most of the ‘86 Corvette convertible “Pace Cars” never had their decals applied. Continue reading “Corvette Pace Car Files: 1986 Indy 500 Pace Car Corvette” →

Vette Videos – Vette Polls: C6 ZR1 Corvette vs All-Wheel-Drive Lamborghini LP670-4 SV

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.6.11
Another look at AWD, does it really matter? 

To visit the official ZR1 website, click the above image.

(Cast your vote at the bottom of this post.)

The other day I was sharing with you the November 2011 Road & track cover story about the 2-second club – three world-class sports cars capable of 0-to-60 in LESS than 3-seconds. Club members include the Nissan GT-R Premium, the Porsche 911 Turbo S, and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. All three cars had AWD and except for the nuts-o 1,183-HP Bugatti, the other two members have LESS horsepower that the ZR1. Plus, the ZR1 Corvette weighs 225-pounds LESS than the Porsche. So, the Corvette with a 106-horsepower advantage isn’t in the club, what’s up with that? “All-wheel-drive” boys and girls.

 

Mamma mia! That's'a SPICY meatball! And she's nice too!

Well don’t despair Corvette fans, not all AWD supercars are in the 2-second club. The Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV could only to the 0-to-60 scoot in 3.0-seconds, so no club membership card for the Lambo either. The June ‘09 Car & Driver Lambo test car was packing 661-HP, 487 LB/FT of torque, weighed 3,850-pounds, and has a top speed of 209 to 213-mph. All that for only $457,500 – enough to buy three ZR1s and a Z06! But we won’t beat them up over a few hundred grand.

Autocar Magazine created the below video comparison between the top gun Corvette and Lamborghini cars. The Lambo has the horsepower edge plus AWD and the ZR1 has the weight advantage. So who wins on a road course? (The video is on the next page –>>) Continue reading “Vette Videos – Vette Polls: C6 ZR1 Corvette vs All-Wheel-Drive Lamborghini LP670-4 SV” →

Vette Polls: What’s Your Favorite 1968-1982 Shark Corvette?

Published on by Scott2 Comments

Dateline: 10.5.11
The Mako Shark II show car styling forever defined the “Corvette look.” What’s your favorite? Take our poll at the end of this post!

The Mako Shark-II show car was about 7/8s the size of the production '68 Corvette. Or at least, it looked that way.

The 1965-1966 Mako Shark-II show car was so over the top, it just had to be the next Corvette! Chevrolet management was so jazzed they wanted it a year! The first Mako Shark-II was a non-running car and was shown to Chevrolet management in Spring of 1965. I guess because the chassis and running gear would be a carry over from the then current Sting Ray, management thought a totally new body and interior could be designed and developed in time for Fall ‘66 delivery to showrooms as a ‘67 model – 18 months? No way!

So the schedule was pushed back a year to Fall ‘67 as a ‘68 model – and even that was pushing it! The end result was that ‘68 models were, shall we say, challenging. Even through everyone’s socks were going up and down over the look of the car, customers were shocked at how rough their premium car was. The new Shark Corvette should have been introduced as a ‘69 model, but hindsight is 20/20. The ‘69 model was a big improvement and things went from there.

Special thanks to Tom Henry Racing for photo. To visit their site, click the above image.

Of course, we all tend to think that things will always improve, right? So when the ‘70 Corvettes came out with their LT-1 small-blocks, and  enlarged, 454 big-blocks, we all assumed things were going to get even better. But a one-two punch landed squarely on the jaw of performance cars with a right jab from the insurance companies and a left hook from the oil companies and new environmental concerns. While getting the lead out of gasoline was a good thing, it took a long time for performance to recover. 1970 turned out to be the high watermark for performance and it was downhill for almost 15 years.

While the performance party was definitely over in the ‘70s and car makers were dropping their muscle cars like hot potatoes, it turned out to be a good thing for Corvettes. Continue reading “Vette Polls: What’s Your Favorite 1968-1982 Shark Corvette?” →

Vette Polls: Another Case for an All-Wheel Drive C7 Corvette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.3.11

Porsche and Bugatti Should be Red Faced (Chevrolet too!) 

Take our poll at the end of this post. 

Last July 1, 2011 I posted a story titled “A Case For An All-Wheel-Drive C7 Corvette.” Motor Trend TV presented a video featuring a 3-way drag race between a Shelby GT 500, a Nissan GT-R, and a 2011 Z06. Although the video was fun to watch, no ETs or speeds were mentioned, but is was obvious that the Shelby was totally SMOKED, the Z06 tried valiantly, but the Nissan was the winner.

Of the three cars, the critical numbers were all over the place and if you ignore the Nissan’s AWD drive train, the performance was baffling. The Shelby and the Nissan both have 550-HP, while the Z06 only has 505-HP. The Shelby had the most torque (you know, that “other” horsepower) with 510 lb/ft, while the Nissan had 448 lb/ft and the Z06 470 lb/ft. In the weight department, the Z06 was the flyweight, weighing in at just 3,253 LBS, with the Shelby at 3,801 and the Nissan at 3,898. So, on paper, the Z06’s 645-pound advantage should have given the win to the Corvette. But when you see the video, the story was obvious. The Nissan slapped a hole shot on the Z06 and the Shelby that they were never able to recover from. End of story.

What's missing from this cover? How about a ZR1!

The cover story of the November 2011 issue of Road & Track, the title story reads, “Speed Kings – 0-60 in 2.5 SEC!” On page 50 the article lead is “The Two Second Club – What does it take to join the quickest club on four wheels?” Of all of the current production high performance cars, apparently there are only three capable of running sub-3-second 0-60-mph times. The three cars are: the 2012 Nissan GT-R Premium, the 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S, and the 2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport.

For the purpose of the essay, it’s important to note that all three of these cars have all-wheel-drive.

Who won? Want to take a guess? Time’s up! First place went to the Bugatti with a 0-60-mph blast of 2.52-seconds! You might want to let that one soak in a little. Second place went to the 911 Porsche with a 2.84-second 0-60 time. (See, Porsche doesn’t win everything!) And third place went to the Nissan GT-R Premium with a 0-60 time of 2.94-seconds. Quarter-mile ET and speeds were not given.

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is hands down, the King of Supercars. The car packs a 7993cc W-16, quad turbo (that FOUR turbochargers!) with a whopping 1,183-HP, 1106 lb/ft of torque, and a 7-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Weight – 4,545-LBS. Top speed is “limited” at 258-MPH. OUCH! Nuff said. Continue reading “Vette Polls: Another Case for an All-Wheel Drive C7 Corvette” →