Interesting article. C8 vs Shelby GT 500
- Thread starter Dantanman
- Start date
- Jun 26, 2014
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That was an interesting read, thanks
Good read.
Should GM throw the LT4 into the Camaro, slap on a 1LE package, and take that up against the Shelby GT500? I feel like that would be a more equal comparison. The GT500 and C8 Corvette are two very, very different cars. Give the C8 equal power, full aero, larger, stickier tires, and it'll decimate the GT500 around a track.
In fact, I would go out on a limb and say the 2020 Stingray with Z51 and the same tires as the GT500 - Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 would be enough to match the pace of the GT500.
Should GM throw the LT4 into the Camaro, slap on a 1LE package, and take that up against the Shelby GT500? I feel like that would be a more equal comparison. The GT500 and C8 Corvette are two very, very different cars. Give the C8 equal power, full aero, larger, stickier tires, and it'll decimate the GT500 around a track.
In fact, I would go out on a limb and say the 2020 Stingray with Z51 and the same tires as the GT500 - Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 would be enough to match the pace of the GT500.
Yeah, I read it. GT500 265 or so more HP - probably heavier; but the C8 killed it in the curves. Thanks for posting.
- Jul 28, 2019
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This probably is NOT going to be a popular statement here, but I'd take a GT500 over a C8 any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
The front engine rear drive just suits my driving style better. I have no issue with the dynamics of a Front engine/rear drive car. I'm fine with the rear end stepping out and the car being "skittish" at the ragged edge. I know how to handle it, what to do with it and understand exactly what the car is trying to tell me at that edge.
Rear/mid engine cars?
Nope.
I've never been able to get comfortable with the way they handle. I just don't find them predictable or telegraphing that "Hey plucky, you better back off! I'm about to loose traction and fire us off into the weeds" like a FE/RWD car. With a FE car, the back end will step out and I'll get that rear end drift. But I also don't have to lift when that rear end steps out because I know what it's going to do. So end while I'm in a rear end drift, I can still accelerate because I'm used to a good "wrestle" with that oversteer condition.Yes, it takes more concentration and skill, but it's always just worked for me. Fits my style I guess.
Without exception, every rear engine Porsche or mid engine exotic I've been given at the track for a run gets away from me (sooner or later) and next thing you know there's grass flying through the air (and I've done the full "silverstone experience", so I've driven some serious exotics and had some serious instruction). In all fairness, I'm usually going just as fast (or faster) than I would be on a FE/RWD car, but there's just not as much "communication" before it lets go and that means I can't take it right to the ragged edge because the car just doesn't talk to me. I have to back off because I never know when that absolute "stickiness" is going to swap from a light 4 wheel drift to a full on 4 wheel slide into the closest bushes. It's like I only speak English and rear/mid engine cars are speaking French.
Comparing the GT500 to the C8 isn't really a fair comparison, but I'm surprised the GT500 represented as well as it did against the newest vette with all GM engineering "magic".
Now, those are all track comments, where you actually can touch the limits of hypercars like these.
On the street?
Meh, pick whichever one speaks to you the most and then go drive the wheels off it. Unless you plan to track it on a serious level, all those ultimate performance numbers are only good for sitting at the coffee shop and bench racing....
The front engine rear drive just suits my driving style better. I have no issue with the dynamics of a Front engine/rear drive car. I'm fine with the rear end stepping out and the car being "skittish" at the ragged edge. I know how to handle it, what to do with it and understand exactly what the car is trying to tell me at that edge.
Rear/mid engine cars?
Nope.
I've never been able to get comfortable with the way they handle. I just don't find them predictable or telegraphing that "Hey plucky, you better back off! I'm about to loose traction and fire us off into the weeds" like a FE/RWD car. With a FE car, the back end will step out and I'll get that rear end drift. But I also don't have to lift when that rear end steps out because I know what it's going to do. So end while I'm in a rear end drift, I can still accelerate because I'm used to a good "wrestle" with that oversteer condition.Yes, it takes more concentration and skill, but it's always just worked for me. Fits my style I guess.
Without exception, every rear engine Porsche or mid engine exotic I've been given at the track for a run gets away from me (sooner or later) and next thing you know there's grass flying through the air (and I've done the full "silverstone experience", so I've driven some serious exotics and had some serious instruction). In all fairness, I'm usually going just as fast (or faster) than I would be on a FE/RWD car, but there's just not as much "communication" before it lets go and that means I can't take it right to the ragged edge because the car just doesn't talk to me. I have to back off because I never know when that absolute "stickiness" is going to swap from a light 4 wheel drift to a full on 4 wheel slide into the closest bushes. It's like I only speak English and rear/mid engine cars are speaking French.
Comparing the GT500 to the C8 isn't really a fair comparison, but I'm surprised the GT500 represented as well as it did against the newest vette with all GM engineering "magic".
Now, those are all track comments, where you actually can touch the limits of hypercars like these.
On the street?
Meh, pick whichever one speaks to you the most and then go drive the wheels off it. Unless you plan to track it on a serious level, all those ultimate performance numbers are only good for sitting at the coffee shop and bench racing....
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Your opinion makes perfect sense. It's one of the reasons why mid-engine cars weren't built by American manufacturers before: they are a lot more difficult to handle at the limit. That 50:50 weight distribution makes for a very predictable car in both over- and under-steer. Move more weight to the back and then you get snap-oversteer that is very difficult to correct.
As I said in a previous post, the GT500 and C8 is not a fair, nor very comparable comparison. They are two very different cars, one of which is the absolute top-end in performance for the platform and the other is the bottom end of the performance scale of the platform. Of course, they cannot compare the GT500 to a Z06 or a ZR1 because they don't exist today. A more fair comparison would be the Mustang to a Camaro of similar factory performance spec.
- May 25, 2019
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excellent analysis. for comparison, look how mercedes is benchmarking their AMG GT versus the 911