I guess this is the real point I'm trying to make:
The Z06, according to it's numbers, ought to be faster than a Porsche GT2, Ford GT, F430, etc. So, if that is the Z06's level of performance, who or what is it still playing second fiddle to?
Lets just say [Corvette chief engineer] Dave Hill is not a guy who likes playing second fiddle to any high-performance car on the road, said Lutz. My guess is were going to find a way to do something beyond the Z06, that would be at a much higher price point, and which would compete with some of the leading high-performance cars of the world.
CGT, Enzo, MB Mclaren SLR, Murcielago, Zonda, Mclaren F1. And that list gets shorter by one car for every second under 7:46 the Z06 posts. What do you think the VP of the largest car company in the world considers "some of the leading high-performance cars of the world.? Without going back to the whole race car chassis debate, don't you think, whatever its shortfalls, that the C6R with an extra 50 or 100 hp could out do the MCC? So why is it so far fetched to think that the Blue Devil could be designed to compete with the Enzo or Carrera GT? Performance wise, what else could it be designed to compete with? When the Z06 has already set the bar so high?
Don't just take my word for it. Take a Z06 in GT4. Give it about 600 horses, and reduce the weight to 1318. If you can--I don't know if it's possible. Buy it stock, and don't touch the tires. You may have to add some weight back, but just put it right in the middle--that ought to be about fair. Now, this won't take ANY of the other improvements into account--just the weight and power, since they're easily quantifiable.
I tried it to approximate the new Z06 with 502 horses (that was as close as I could come), and i did it with the race tranny and without, since the new Z06 can do 62-63 in first, and the stock C5 Z06 tranny only does like 45-50 in first (though, since it's the result of a higher redline, there really is no good compromise besides just leaving it stock). My best time (for 502 hp) was 7:38. Yes, its a game, and I dont' have to worry about my life, but I'm not even terribly familiar with the ring yet, and that's what I got. So, I think a time of 7:40 in real life by an experienced driver is entirely possible. Some experienced drivers on some of the vette forums (as in, they have owned LM race teams that have gone to Lemans) believe it can do a 7:37. I almost did, and I don't even know the track that well (though that was a great lap!).
Try it out! Give it something over 600 hp, reduce the weight, and try it. Then tell me what it can and can't do.
AND THEY HAD ALL BETTER BE IN GT5 OR I'M NOT EVEN BUYING A PS3!