Speaking of prices. I hear Porche dealers are asking 90K over list on a GT4. Im guessing the Gt3 buyer is paying 3-400K, maybe more. By that calculus a z06 at 150K nicely optioned is a bargain. The proof for people like me is will this car dance on track, or will it just be another vette with a groovy sounding motor. Was at the track the past few days, and of street cars based on performance the hireachy of speed went like this Mclaren 765LT GT2RS pre 992 2022 Gt3 C7 ZR1 GT4 Then camaro Ilt Then regualr C8. Ill put a caveat in, the GT4 coudl run sustained consistent laps for 15 laps. By lap 8 or so the Gt3 had dropped to the Gt4 pace due to tires. The Zr1 is a few laps trick pony. The Mclaren was just savage, but it was not out for more than 8 or so laps at a time, and I hear after 4 or so track days it is suggested to have a 6K tansmision service plus of course the rest. Truth be told any car driven really hard on track for 4 days shoudl have all fluids changed and will probably need pads. A cayman one can do fluids pads etc at home. If the vette is the same thats a big plus. If the z06 is somewhere around GT4Rs or Gt3 levels of sustained performance that will be great. Lets see., The key is sustained performance and counsumables/cost to run with performance on track which many can learn to maximise. IMO on that basis currently the cayman Gt4 is the overall champ. Potentially the vette will be somewhat more capable, cost in reality less, and be less to run.
Meanwhile theyre only building 2500+ z06s and maybe 300 with aero for 2023, so its an almost non existent car.
Any Mclaren on track is a monster - just pricey. I didn’t have a timer in the 600LT, but it was stupid fast. It was that day in that car that I decided I didn’t really like that level street car on track. C8 would lap multiple sessions with no problem too. Porsche is no slouch. Then there are a few surprises. C&D Grandcourse at VIR/ “Lightning Lap”: Image Unavailable, Please Login
The only mclaren I drove on track was a 570gt4 car. The driver though is doing relatively little. That day at lrp I was happy to get back into the Elise and drive the track. I’ve seen the Mercedes’ on track it is indeed formidable. Clearly we are living in an era when heavy cars can be made to work. I wonder how much less expensive it is to run the Mercedes’ on track. the question as always is how much is the driver doing and getting out of it. Porche has not forgotten that this is what it’s about and they seem to have found a balance. it will be interesting to see what the z06 is about beyond the numbers. Will it have tactility and dynamic feedback, will it feel all of a piece. They have the Ferrari sound, have they captured some of the rest.
Very interesting to see where the Porsche 918 and Viper ACR have now dropped to, newer cars just keep getting faster and faster. Also interesting to see nearly complete absence of Ferrari on the list.
Our very own @soulsea is famous. This video suggests he was personally responsible for Chevy recently transitioning from a 12 month no sale requirement to a 6 month no sale requirement on the new Z06. That’s heavy pull.
As I understand it they have 1000 allocation orders placed and they are capping it at that for the rest of ‘22; therefore, not accepting any new allocation for the calendar year. This is normal for Ferrari.
Ha, the video author is way too flattering to me and my influence in the matter is a really a lot less significant than he describes. Its a super long read but here’s the full story: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c8-z06-zr1-zora-discussion/4667410-one-customer-s-back-story-of-how-gm-amended-their-flipper-policy-tldr-warning.html
You are far too humble. It’s clear your powerful direct communication got the ball rolling. The entire situation is maddening all the way around. I really don’t feel bad for myself. I have never owned a Vette, and my last GM product was a Hummer H2 a couple decades ago. I feel bad for all the Vette loyalists who, between the price point and the flippers, are going to be squeezed out.
No. The Z06 starts production the week of Sept. 12th. GM is not giving any more ALLOCATIONS for the rest of the year.
Correct, that is what I meant to say. Weird- something isn’t right, because that is way less than originally planned.
They stated that the roll out would would be a slow ramp up to try and make sure all bugs in the production process are worked out, and supply chain disruptions are minimized. They also stated they are training new people to build the engines as demand has exceeded capacity, and they stated that they can only build 2 Z06s back to back on the line before having to interject a different model. There are very complicated appearing algorithms for the model of C8 as well as color and aero options (etc.) and how they are sequenced on the assembly line. Moreover, they said that they anticipate ~10% of C8 production initially will be Z06 and when at full chat and things running smoothly they plan to bring that up to ~30%. If they make ~25K C8s in 12 months, 10% = ~2500 Z06s over 12 months, or ~210 per month. Over 4 months that is ~840 Z06s. To me that doesn’t seem like a big shift in their plan, and with the launch of a new model with a bespoke engine they have never built before, with crazy employee BS these days and supply chain disruptions galore seems quite reasonable an approach.
Here is a slide posted on MECF from a factory presentation. Looks crazy complicated working out assembly line logistics, and then add in supply chain and employee unpredictability and you’ve got a nightmare to sort through. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You are spot on, the only thing that is a bit of a wild card is 12 month C8 production, IF, and that’s a big if……..if the stars ever align to make a full 12 month production run, they can actually produce approx 40k C8’s in a 12 month run, none of the model years have been a full 12 months yet (for obvious reasons).
Those constraints sound like what only a bean counter could come up with! Sounds like these Restrictions serve to create more work than to reduce unnecessary work. FWIW- Other manufacturers are known to run cars in batches by color.
Those constraints place cars/hour at the top of the list and take full advantage of the assembly line process. Parts need for a specific model arrive on the line in a perfectly timed manner. Robotic painters clear their discharge nozzles between cars automatically and can spray any color on demand.
