Asshat aye? If you don’t pay attention to the prices of high end cars, perhaps you shouldn’t come into threads about said high end cars and spout off with your great insight into their potential pricing then, should you? Perhaps you shouldn’t announce something that’s been painfully clear for about 2 years now as if you had just bestowed some great new piece of automotive knowledge on us all, and we should thank you for your wisdom. Perhaps you should stick to the threads about Hyundais. Douche bag.
Insane repair costs don’t stop ppl from buying the Lotus/Exige or Vipers (all of which have ub3r costly one-piece front “clam shell” type hood/fenders). And in the ZR1’s case most of the new use of expensive materials are in the roof and B pillar. If your roof and B pillar are damaged in an accident I think it’s going to be expensive no matter WHAT they’re made out of.
Believe it or not, I actually agree a little bit on some of the ub3r expensive CF and the clear-coat on it. The roof panel only saves something like 6lbs. They needed to save a whole lot more weight than that, since the SC setup etc. means the entire car (WITH it’s extra CF and other weight saving measures) is 200lbs heavier than the Z06.
If (as Motortrend did) you compare the C6 line to Porsche’s 911 line I think the ZR1 is slotting in where a 911 turbo does. The most tech and forced induction, and a demonstration of technology and “racey” parts. A C6 would be more like the Carrera having targa and 'vert versions (though no hartop C6 as in the 911, I think it’s a shame we never got a FRC C6) and a range of luxury vs. performance (“base” vs. S models for the Carrera, base and mag susp vs. Z51 for the C6). The Z06 you would compare to Porsche’s GT3: lighter, more power, sharper, a track weapon. I think a few tweaks need to be made to the Z06 to really take a GT3 role (real tires and brakes, and options for more weight deletes like the P-cars do) but that’s where it’s lined up. Then the ZR1 falls in like the 911: top of the line. Now, will GM ever do a 'vette to battle w/ the GT2???
My apologies for the asshat comment. But come on, who needs to drop 10-20 pounds off of an already baddass car? I know Chevrolet is trying to make a statement here, and I can applaude that. But from regular metal to CF there is a big jump in pricing. Still, despite being 200lbs heavier then the Z06, do you even think it will be noticable?
I know Carbon Fiber is becoming more expensive to buy/prep/paint, but if that car is shooting for 500-600 horsepower range, I think they could lay off all the CF and the car would still be awesome.
If you read my last reply I said I agreed about the CF. For the weight the roof panel saves (only 6lbs) it’s waaaaaaaay not worth it. But again, even just the brakes put the car past $80k. A loaded Z06 is damn near $80 and on the other high-end cars CF brakes are a ~$10k option. Now, the CF brakes aren’t like the CF body parts. They are about a lot more than just the weight reduction.
Anyway, how much road course stuff do you do? If you don’t think 200lbs is huge then you need to do more. And the move to 52/48% f/r weight distribution due to the weight increase is especially troubling. So the ZR1 has much more power, but it’s going to be even harder now to put it down with less weight on the back tires.
620+HP doesn’t help you stop. 620+HP doesn’t help your car transition. 620+HP doesn’t increase max lateral Gs. 200lbs less would help all of those things. The amazing brakes and ub3r high tech shocks will help make up for the 200lbs (probably even more than make up) along with the much better tires (still run-craps, but reported to have a handling optimized compound). But just think how much better all that stuff would still be, minus the 200lbs.
I’d love to see all the goodies from the ZR1 OTHER than the motor put on a Z06. It should come in ~100lbs lighter than a Z06 putting it near sub-3k lbs. And the tires, shocks and brakes would make it the ultimate track weapon.
When you start doing road course stuff you realize huge HP isn’t always the answer. Withough mile-wide slicks (which, granted you can pretty much run on a C6Z06/R1) and lots of aero downforce (which you can’t get on a C6Z06/R1 without a butt-ugly wing and a front spliter that will get knocked off on the first driveway… and even that doesn’t rival a true race car) you can only put so much down.
