Depends on what you want from the car. If you want a daily drivable racer that will smoke 98% of the cars on the street, go for the Z06. If you want a weekend cruiser that will get you looks everywhere you go and will forever be one of the most beautiful cars of all time, go with the ferrari. The ferrari (by todays standards) is not very fast (still plenty quick), but if you want something that will go upwards of 200mph, pick up a Z06. If i was given the choice, I'd take a 355GTS.
Both are going to be fast, no matter what. The Ferrari name is what the Z06 doesn't have, though. The Z06 has more tuning options, for much cheaper as well, if your looking into further customization...it's all preference.
definitly z06... it will out perform the 355 in everyway with a warranty. Add to that the extra room, cheaper mainenance, MODDABILITY, and a few other things... if your only looking for looks and "i got a ferrari" get the 355. Its a great car but... the z06 >
As others have mentioned, a great deal comes down to what you are wanting the car for. I think the biggest question would be whether or not this is going to be a daily driver or a weekend cruiser/track car. The second question would be, how mechanically inclined you are, and/or what type of access you have to repair facilities in your area. If you are going for a weekend car, I think it would be more fun to go with the Ferrari. However, if maintenance on the car will require long trips to the nearest repair center, then perhaps the Corvette would be a better option. On paper, one certainly makes a lot more sense then the other (the vette); but if you are interested in a weekend cruiser that can be taken care of when it needs to be worked on, then the Ferrari would be my pick.
I love it!!! I totally agree with you. Something like that cannot be explained to someone. Yes chevrolet has had many racing successes, but buying a ferrari buys not only a car, but almost 90 years of racing history, an amazing story and a piece of art. As i say to everybody who askes "is it worth it" If you have to ask then its not for you.
tell him to go get his corvette and move on. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Ferrari is pure beauty, if you want a deal buy a porsche etc..... Personally, I only like the vintage vettes. MM
If you've never owned a Ferrari, you should buy one at least once in your life to see what all the fuss is about. But I would say the same thing for the Corvette and the 911.
Given I own both I'll try to share my thoughts. The Z06 is a phenomal car...I was not a Corvette fan at all given previous (pre-C5) experiences, but the C5 Z06 is a standout. It's extremely well balanced, super easy to drive, just warm up and go. Parts are cheap. It's wicked fast and while I haven't pushed the 355 yet I can tell you I was able to push the Z06 further out of the box. Downsides are the cheap interior feel, it's not a luxury car. It just feels plasticy...but the performance speaks. On the flip side the 355 will get you all the attention you want and then some. I've just had mine for a week and it's almost ridiculous. The sport mode seems to be similar in handling to the Z06 in stock form. For tall drivers the Z06 is much easier to fit into than the 355. I also own a GT3 which is a driving machine. I've never driven a car where every input is so direct. Road feel is incredible. If you are driving it even 7/10ths every input has to be precise, there isn't much room for error and it takes some serious skill. The 355 and in particular the Z06 are very easy to push towards the limit w/o feeling like you are over your head . From the butt-dyno they all feel almost similar in acceleration though the GT3 is noticably faster. It's hard to tell much acceleration difference between the Z06 and 355. Not sure whether I like the high pitched scream of the GT3 or the wail of the 355. Both sound better (to me) than the Z06. Heel-toe downshifts are easy in the Z06. The 355 and GT3 both need more precision, but the 355 pedals are jammed together which makes it difficult with larger shoes. The 355 requires serious warmup compared to either the Z06 or GT3. I've got 14k miles on the GT3 w/o a single problem, starts every day, warms up fairly quickly. The 355 has a long set of service records for 28k miles. The GT3 attracts attention from those in the know or those who rarely see non-American sportscars. The 355 attracts looks from just about everyone. And the Z06 attracts the least interest/attention (at least when I had it in street trim). Bang for the buck you can't beat the Z06. It's near equal in performance to all three but at 1/2 or even 1/3 the cost of the others it's a steal. Plus maintenance will be dirt cheap, particularly compared to the 355 where I expect $3k+ per year; for the GT3 I've had ~$500 since I bought the car for oil changes...not including tires. If I had to narrow it down to one right now it would be a tough toss up between the 355 and GT3. The GT3 is extremely rewarding but requires a very good driver behind the wheel...that's what makes it appealing to me. You can't just hop in and go fast...you have to work at it. The 355 is full of passion and people love it. Hope that gives a little better view point.
the 355 is the better car, although depends on wot u want the car for.. the corvette is actually a pretty well rounded car which is cheap to maintain whereas the 355 is probably more a high weekend treat with higher maintenance but with more sense of occasion. just my 2cents... Enzo
great post rsnodgrass - interesting reading. if you're contemplating a choice, my advice would be to get the C6 Z06. go with the warranty and the lower up-front and overall cost option. it'll outperform circles around the 355, and the C6 interiors are an improvement over the C5s (fwiw). if you're leaning towards the 355 and asking this question more casually than for real, go with the 355 - it's a truly great machine. but do be honest with yourself about the depreciation and running costs, comparatively. doody.
Very valid question IMHO, Jeff... Having owned a '97 355 for a little over three months, I was toying around with the idea of selling it eventually, and ordering the new Z06 later this fall. Instead, I traded in the 355 for a new '05 Maserati last week....and am thoroughly enjoying the car! My reasoning behind this move was: 1) the Maser comes with full 4-year/50k warranty, 2) it's Italian, 3) always wanted one, 4) has seating for the whole family, 5) performance specs on par with the 355, 6) has Cambiocorsa F-1 style transmission w/ Auto. mode, 7) only Maser I know of around town (and people often inquire about it), and 8) the wife and kids love it! Had I not made the move to the Maserati (which was more coincidental than anything else), I would have later pursued the Z06. However, I just bought the wife a low miles '01 Vette Coupe a couple of months ago, so we really didn't "NEED" another Vette in the garage. Primarily, it was a decision based on our current family/lifestyle situation -- especially since the wife does not, and will not, drive stick-shift. But, to answer your question....Yes, it is certainly a move I'd consider. 7 litre, 500 hp, dry-sump, lightweight, etc. sure is tempting, especially for 60-70 grand and full factory warranty.
hi jeff finally a post i can contribute to. i've owned two Z06s, a red 03 and a blue 04 commemorative edition. they are great cars but the others hit the nail on the head saying it's all about what you're looking for. want a cheap car that can be made wicked fast and a car that you can have a good time tracking and not worry if you pile it up, then get a used C5 Z. if the C6 Z hits with an $80k pricetag its still a bargain, but not as much as its predacessor, which can be made just as quick and is much better looking IMO. when you get up into the $80k range you're getting into the ballpark of a lot of cool cars... much more so than the $45k pricepoint of the C5 Z. i just can't recommend the C6Z because there are many more "complete" cars for the money. after all, there's more to the driving experience than just how fast a car is. but i didn't always think like that.... for me it was always speed and looks-- that was ALL i wanted in a cool car. the car that "ruined" me for all others was last summer when i drove a 550. back when the 550s came out i lusted big time over that car, figured it would be a long time before i could even think about owning one. well almost 10 years later and i was happy with my vettes.... until i took that beautiful 4000 mile 1998 TdF maranello for a drive.... that was it... i dont know what it was exactly, probably lots of things i never realized i was missing out on in my Z06. how the interior smelled, how the shifter felt, how the engine sounded, how other drivers nearly ran off the road staring at the ferrari.... there is no way to convey with words exactly what it felt like driving that 550, but the feeling i experienced was definitely greater than the sum of the parts. to the uninitiated, well, they just wouldn't understand... you have to feel it for yourself. and that's probably a good thing because if word got out, i don't thing the used prices would be quite as favorable. cheers k
Lower up-front costs, yes. Overall cost option, I'd say no. Just remember, the $80k Z06 will be a $40k Z06 in just a couple years, while an $80k F355 will most likely be a $70k F355 over the same time frame. It will take a lot of cheap warranty work to make up the spread on depreciation. By no means am I against the Z06; I think it is awesome. Just remember to consider ALL aspects of cost...
Of course you could always buy a used NSX and put the Comptech supercharger kit on it. It's still exotic, but will annihilate a Z06. Trust me on this. ;-) Mike http://northwest.nsxca.org/mike.html
If it's a daily driver, the Z06 If it's for best performance, the Z06 But then again, Le coeur a des raisons que la raison ignore (Heart has reasons mind ignores), so if you always lured after a 355, nothing will quite replace it, as you will use the Z06s' extra hp once in a while, but you will smile every day you'll have a chance driving the car you like. And again, none of thee cars is an investment anyway, so depreciation etc is meaningless
For performance, definately the ZO-6. That car will be unbeatable in terms of bang-for-buck performance. If I already had a race car though, the Ferrari.
I agree with Eric308 that the Z06 is hard to argue against on paper. However, when I look at a car, I look at the whole package, which includes looks/performance numbers/maintenance and over all usability. Looks are often subjective, and in my opinion, nothing is sexier than a Yellow F355. Thus for me the choice is easy. On a sound note (though I have not heard a Z06 new one yet), the F355 is one of the best sounding ferraris I have ever heard. To me sounds/looks alone, the 355 does it. Then again I am a Viper guy, and not a Vette one. Then again if this will be your only car, the warranty might be more important to you than to others who might use it as a weekend play toy. Good luck with your decision, and keep us posted.
GREAT THREAD...enjoying the reading I too have recently been bombarded with the 'vette issue. I've had a couple friends announce their intent to buy the new vette and one friend who just did....his is a convertible with the Z51(?) package, he says it does 0-60 in 4.1 and of course, he loves it. He was looking at a 355 and found one with 9,000 miles and 1 1/2" thick of service records: the receipt-per-mile factor freaked him out. I didn't buy my 355 for what others would see when I drove it. Honestly, I would be perfectly content if people saw an old Toyota when they looked at me. When people admire the car, I sometimes feel a bit embarassed. Some friends regard me differently now, others (at the gym) are more friendly, competitive old frat-buddies are more edgy. Most of the attention is positive, but some negative: but either way..why should people think different of me because of a car? As right goes, that ain't. My point: I didn't score the f-car for the attention. So why did I pass on the vette? LOL: probably cause my dad has one and I didn't want to follow his lead. But more accurately, because I wanted something unique, rare & different. I also wanted something mid-sized, convertible and figured at one time in my life, I'd like to own an exotic. Words can not describe the satisfaction this 355 spider has brought me...I did not anticipate the fun, passion & excitement. I'm not sure a vette would do that for me. Now here's the kicker, even though Darth550 repeatedly told me that the 355 was not the end-all of super-fast cars, I still believed I was buying a legendary super-car that would kill almost any other car on the road. Wake-up call: the 355 is basically a decade-old technology car. A Saleen Mustang will eat me for lunch. And it also turns out there are several porsche's that will too. Soooo...I started anticipating buying something newer & faster... But why bother? There will always be something faster, quicker or capable of pulling more g's around a corner. And at the risk of embarassing myself, the 355 is fully capable of scaring the cr&p out of me when pushing it through canyons...I'm not sure I can handle more performance! And the 355 is no slouch, it can still get me flying past others cars and into a speeding ticket with a few seconds on the gas pedal. I don't think I'm sacrificing any great margin of speed/handling or performance at all. Can you financially rationalize the 355 over the Z06...nope. Dollar per value GM delivers hands-down. The vette's are looking better and better each year, and dare I suggest they seem to be borrowing pages from the Ferrari book of stlying...I see a lot of Maranello/360 in the new vette. In conclusion, the 355 excites me, moves me and sounds/feels awesome. The vette is nice, but there are millions of them out there and I'm just not drawn to their looks just yet. Just an opinion...ya never know what the future may bring.
A friend of mine has a C5 Z06 and the last couple of times he has gone to the track with me the car didn't start one time and he had to have it owed, then last time the engine went completely and blew oil all over the track, so they may be fast but don't seem very durable. If you want a good track car at a very reasonble price get a used GT3, they are basically indestructable, but the 355 is a very nice street/canyon car with a lot of heritage.
