pixeljunkynz
(edited)
In reality Corvettes are horrible cars that can't corner. But this Z06 is blowing me away. I just did a lap of Nurburgring at 6'45:12 with a few mistakes (591bhp)
In reality Corvettes handle
very well. Through the years they have had weight biases ranging from 53/47 to 46/54; no year has ever put 55% or more of the overall weight over either axle. Curb weight reached a max of 3655 pounds (1657.88 kilograms) in 1979; that was Corvette's worst year.
pixeljunkynz
(edited)Americans like American cars. But other than the Ford GT, Viper, and American cars of the past most respected NON-American car journalists do not rate any american sports cars highly. However, I have found a few british car people say something along the lines that "The corvette is extremely simple and completely un-refined. But having said that, it is a HELL of a lot of fun"
Okay, that's fair. People in one area will tend to like products that come out of their area. However, I live in California and will admit that a TVR Cerbera is one very cool automobile. I like Europe, haven't been, but would love to go one day.
If the U.S. government would stop trying to save people from themselves and GM, Ford and Chrysler could build performance cars without 6 million F*$KING pounds of safety material (that's 2.721.554 kilograms if you are keeping track), I would surmise that a Corvette built in a less strict United States could give a TVR a run for it's money. If there's anything we do well over here, it's power; more specifically, good old pushrod torque. We don't get any other cool cars here because they have to pass *in a sour/snooty voice* stringent U.S. smog and crash standards. That's BULL$H*T! We should stop trying to save stupid people from themselves damnit. If stupid people want to kill themselves by doing stupid things, that's their fault but I digress.
pixeljunkynz
(edited)All I have to say is, if the car handles anything like it does in GT4 I would buy one in a heartbeat.
It does. The real life ZO6 is one sweet handling machine. In 1984, the beginning of body style C4, the Corvette with Z51 suspension held over 1.00 lateral Gs stock off the showroom floor. Owners whined, saying the car was "too stiff." Well wa wa! It's a performance car! If you don't like it, sell it to someone who will appreciate it. As a result of people's whining, for 1985 and later the car got softer. The C5 ZO6 also corners at over 1.00 Gs of lateral grip. This is why it's so fun for you to drive the car around Nürburgring. Try driving the 1969 Corvette Stingray around the same track with settings of your choice. In real life it has a weight bias of 49%F / 51%R.
In the mid 1980s, Corvette was competing in the World Challenge but it got to be an "all Corvette show" in not too much time. I believe the Vettes got banned when that happened. Their answer? In 1988 and 1989 Corvettes competed in their own sanctioning body called "Corvette Challenge"
Corvettes really do handle quite well, since 1963 they've utilized a front mid-mounted engine that has helped their front:rear weight bias. I've even noticed, through my restomodification, that my 1969 Corvette's engine is set slightly to the passenger side of the car to offset the weight of a driver. The radiator is reclined to lower the center of gravity. The Corvette uses all kinds of designing tricks to make it corner. It
is America's sports car, has been for 52 years now. Sports cars are designed to corner, so Corvette should do the same.
One of the Top Gear episodes (I have it on digital file) praised the base model C6 for its cornering capabilities. Sure they made fun of the dual transverse leaf spring layout, but it works just fine for the car and the springs are light weight. The smaller guy with light color hair (I don't know his name) was amazed the C6 comes with a G-meter as part of the heads-up display.
