Get yourself a Ford GT. SMashes all corvettes and vipers put together. ANd No im not a ford Fan. I own a 1968 QQ1 blue white top all original 1968 Dodge Charger... I only started researching as I wanted to switch to Euro-Exotic, but quickly found only 1 car would do everything I want and thats a GT. Sounds like a muscle car Corners better than All ferraris and vettes and vipers Is the LEMANS king, 6 year wins in a row Has torque of a big block V8 *if u choose to upgrade the 5.4L - 7.3 litre* Looks like a race car Has enough aftermarket parts availability to turn it into a serious ass kicker (if it isnt good enough for u stock) Either way,its extremelly well designed, its fundamentals are awesome and thus U can really work with that car as its base is exceptionally well designed. But back to what u asked.... Ferrari - COrvette... U cant be serious. An F355 is a Ferrari. Its got soul, its got prestige, its got everything a "corvette" (production car nothing) will never have.
Go one better and get a GT40 replica. Cheaper and faster than the gt! ;o) (but we are waaaay out of the price range of the vette/viper) Scott
LOL the Ferrari doesnt have 7 LeMans wins in the 21st C which the Vette has + the Z06 will leave the 355 choking in its dust
Plus, unless you're really burning up the highway, nobody will even notice you in the Corvette (unlike the Ferrari at any speed or no speed).
If the op is still deciding, for me it came down to the cost to maintain. I've had my Z for almost two years, other than getting it inspected and an oil change once a year I put on new tires, and that's been it.
I had five Z06s, the last two C6 Z06s, and none of them gave an ounce of trouble. Even being overserviced, they cost virtually nothing annually. The odds of seeing a quicker car are pretty slim. I traded my 08 Z06 for a 575M, so going either way can make you happy. The first three Z06s and the 575M are about equally quick, the C6 Z06s can blow the 575M away. But it is not all about speed. After five years, I think a C6 Z06 will make you very happy, especially with the Z07 package with CCMs and the Michelins. Have fun and it will take a 599 or late Viper to be quicker (or ZR1). The former is expensive and I am not convinced the latter is a car for daily use. The Z06 is. Taz Terry Phillips
I'm just going to place this picture here. I've seen your 355 several times at local meets, while it is amazing, change is good & the Z06 wouldn't be a bad choice at all. Image Unavailable, Please Login
William H ruins every corvette thread he enters. MY CAR IS BETTER!!!!111!! Who cares? We have all seen it. It's a cool car. It's not the be all end all to automotive enthusiasm. Bench racing Vipers on the internet? Boring... Carving up a canyon road in a 355? Exciting! To the OP: Buy something that makes you feel something. Buy what you enjoy and what excites you, not what goes 1000 mph faster than it's "competition". FWIW, my dad has a ZO6 and while its VERY fast and loud (Long Tubes into Borla mufflers), it just doesn't feel "special". It's a blast to drive but I don't think I could ever buy one unless I meant to track it often.
I went from a 355 to a C6 Z06... apples and oranges... Z06 great usable car. much faster than a 355. Its not even close.. Usable car with a very poor ride, LOUD LOUD LOUD tire noise. and its a vette.... the 355... an amazing car with characteristics that make you fall in love... you will loose your wallet in maintinance but its much more of a special ocassion car. If you are looking for fast transportation and thats it... Z06 cant be beat (except for with a viper... which i love...) Bottom line... i will never purchase a Z06 again. still a very very good car. but it doesn't really sink its teeth into you... (but it doesn't attack your wallet either). I will purchase a 355 again. I have purchased multiplel vipers... LOL
To me, this one is easy: totally subjective and driver dependent. The Vette was the first "high end" sports car I bought, and bought new cash, and it was probably the most exciting day of my life. I drove the hell out of it, modded it, and babied it. It was a 2000 C5 and was a fantastic car in every way. Then I drove an NSX and it was over. I moved to the NSX, then to another NSX, then to a 911 and now back to an NSX. The space in between the 911 and the latest NSX was occupied by baby, new house, etc etc. So coming back into a "toy car" took a while. Before jumping back in I test drove *everything* (and I mean everything) New Z06, old Z06, C6, Viper ACR, Viper SRT 10, GTS, RT/10, Lotus Esprit... You get the idea. What I came to realize is two things: 1) I am addicted to mid-engine 2) driving "feel", for me, now trumps pure #s At that point I realized I cant go back to the Vette (and even less so the Viper). The long hood, the feel of it, all of it is just wrong. If I had unlimited budget, I'd be in a F355 and never looking back and *really* not caring about the fact that the new Z06 will certainly be chasing the 911 Turbo and 2012 GT-R 0-60 numbers and trying to push towards 2.3 seconds or whatever. But thats *me*. I know that *many* folks (and a few on this thread ) will say that ultimate performance (and this generally translates almost directly to acceleration and massive HP figure) is *all* that matters. If you are just after something "new", and never really found anything about the F355 particularly engaging or special, or if you are itching to get into the big #s game, then I think you *cannot* go wrong with a Z06. Definitely get a good amount of seat time in a few different cars before you commit though. Also, if your decision really is about bench racing for whatever reason, I'd caution that it really is an endless and losing game. First its stock pissing contests and every car is inching towards 1000HP now. Then thats not enough and its mods. I was at a car show recently and was parked near a line of GT-Rs ("asian section"... LOL) The *lowest* HP car there was about 700HP. With AWD and sequential trans, they arent running in fear from ZR1s much less Z06s. The 2012s are an honest, and easily achievable by anyone, 11 second car *stock*. Some of the guys there are running 8s and 9s. And thats just the GT-R. Same is true for Supra. Same is true for Viper. Same is true for *Mustang*. Same is even true for Porsche. At a certain point, IMO, it gets really tired and pointless. I'll take driving pleasure any day (and that means more than how fast I rocket to 100), but thats just me
I suppose having both is out of the question? An '06 or '07 C6Z could be had for the mid to upper 30K range. Don't take the Ebay prices very seriously. I've see cars get relisted for months on end. The economy is still crap and the bottom has fallen out on pricing.
I'd love to get another C6Z & paint it flat black and add the same CF bits I have on my blue one and add a black leather interior w red stitching , Yum
I would not trade the Z06 I just bought for a 355, a 360 maybe for my 430 if I could find it. I got rid of the Gallardo (which in RWD is a hell of a car) and got the Z06. If driving one of these (in competative mode) does not excite you, you are either dead or not driving it right. Yes you do not get the looks you get in a Ferrari or Lambo (thank god) but that is why I love this thing even in Le Mans Blue no one notices it. Is the interior full of plastic yes, do the earlier cars need good coil overs yes, if you are tracking it. For most people here who rarely take their cars over the speed limit the Z06 is a far better car than they are drivers. After my first week of owning a Ferrari I got tired of the looks, 10 years later I got to a point I almost never took the Lambo out because of the reaction it got (100 time worse than a Ferrari), now I have a car that is fast a blast to drive (getting those 12" to break loose is fun) and I can give to a valet. Oh yeah buy Mr. Breeze it onsale at Amazon.
my only real serious concern with the purchase is that it may cause a 575 to come up for sale..........
As do I when a sports car of any make crosses paths with me in my Vettes. You'll always have the type that proclaim "it's (your favorite car here) or nothing. " The Viper lacks some of the refineries such as traction control, active handling, door windows(in early models ) and whatever. But that shouldn't keep anyone who's willing to live with the idiosyncrasies from buying what they want.
