Spy Shots: Corvette Z07 suspension testing with Ferrari 599
When we first saw the KGP Photography spy photos of a 2009 Corvette Z07 (or whatever the moniker di jour is) testing side by side with a Ferrari 599 GTB, our first thought was that a lightweight 'Vette with nearly 700hp could actually hold its own against a 599 in a strait line, but in the twisties, the competition would be tougher. Well, not so fast. These two vehicles have similar weight and length, both vehicles boast more than 600hp, front-engine layouts, and both companies employ the same magnetic damping from the embattled Delphi corporation.
In fact, the folks over at Straightline think Z07 engineers are testing their configuration of the magnetic shock absorbers against the best the world has to offer. Hey, if you want to make a world-beater, the 599 GTB Fiorano is a hell of a measuring stick
[Source: Straightline]
Thanks for the tip, Drew!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
christopher 8:42AM (5/18/2007)
What I'd give to be on the testing-sidelines for this one. My money (and I don't have any) is on the Vette just because I would love to the headlines of all the car mags come 2009. 'Z07+599, divided by 100,000.00 = ass kickn.
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Mike 8:51AM (5/18/2007)
If you had to pick something out of Ferrari's garage to test the Z07 against should it not have been the F430 because it is race-bred like the Z07 and more a track car modified for the road?
The 599 is a V12 monster and while beautiful and fast it's over weight and configured for touring not the skid pad or slalom.
Despite the engine layout, I think the F430 is more like the Z07 and would have been a better benchmark for them IMHO.
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Chris 9:24AM (5/18/2007)
Ferrari really should be worried about this...
Leaf springs...
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brimg87 9:01AM (5/18/2007)
#2, Please remember the "Z07" is going to be around $100,000; much cheaper than any Ferrari.
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chris 9:13AM (5/18/2007)
That's because Ferrari's are as much about luxury as they are about performance or looks these days. Even the cheapest Ferrari has a better interior than the most expensive BMW (which I think is the M6 Convertible at the moment, though it would still work even with the 760i or whatever), the Z06 has a pretty terrible interior (not that it exactly has much to build on as the standard C6 is quite bad as well, but I guess the people who buy them don't care about such things), and the Z07 will probably be totally stripped out of every unnecessary thing that they can think of.
There's no real point benchmarking the car against any Ferrari, or Porsche or Lamborghini for that matter. No one who is willing to buy a Z06, a car that is about performance over anything else, would consider a far more expensive European car where things like aesthetics and build quality are just as, if not more important than performance.
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Nick 9:37AM (5/18/2007)
The standard Z06 is already capable enough to match the 599 for straight-line speed, and judging what I've heard and seen about the 599's track abilities, the Z06 would take it there as well. The 599 is a super tourer, not a track slut.
PS.
"These two vehicles have similar weight"
How do you figure a 3,722 pound Ferrari is similar to a 3,132 pound Corvette?
Jeez Autoblog...
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Yayaja 9:47AM (5/18/2007)
#4 chris,
the point of making a corvette that can beat a ferrari is not to make potential ferrari customers reconsider their decision... it's simply to embarrass them, and raise the bar for ferrari. 20 years ago, no one gave a shat about the driving ergonomics of a ferrari or more importantly lambo's. From what I read the lambo countach had approx. 0% rear visibility. Thats not what mattered... they were fast, period. Now just being fast is not good enough. Every article in car and driver focuses in on driver feel, driver confidence, driver comfort, all kinds of abstracts. Ferraris HAVE to have nice interiors, be comfortable and luxurious, and its cars like the vette that force them to be so. Otherwise, whats the point? If they still made ferrari's the way they used to, no one would buy them.
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Jaime 9:53AM (5/18/2007)
"du jour", not di jour...
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Sandouras 10:07AM (5/18/2007)
Yes they would buy Ferraris. Dont forget that despite everything you all said the 599 is only a second slower to the Enzo in the Fiorano test track. Maybe Ferrari are exaggerating but come on people, the engines that Ferrari use, and generally the tech, are 10 years ahead of everyone elses. The Vette still uses medieval engines!
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John P. 10:21AM (5/18/2007)
Ferrari's have always been about separating the slobs like us from the people with "class" with price and sometimes performance,
Corvettes have always been about giving the regular guy on the street a super-car, not always successful, but in the current iterations, they've more than held their own in the price/performance war.
I'll put my money on the corvette in this contest, on the track anyway.
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Carguy 10:44AM (5/18/2007)
Chris,
Ya, expensive composite leaf springs that provide a lower center of gravity and less unsprung weight which are successfully packaged and integrated are nothing for Ferrrari to worry about...
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Mike 10:43AM (5/18/2007)
WOW I COULD TUNE A FRIGGIN' DODGE CHARGER TO BEAT A 599 AND COME IN $100K UNDER THE FERRARI PRICE BUT...
WHO CARES!??!?!?!??!?!??!?!
NO CAR INCLUDING THE VETTE WILL EVER HAVE THE COMBO OF HISTORY, BEAUTY, LUXURY, ETC. OF THE FERRARI.
IF A CAR GO FASTER WHO GIVES A SH!T THERE ARE LOTS OF CARS OUT THERE FASTER THAN A 599 HAS ANYONE CONSIDERED THAT FERRARI OWNERS DON'T JUST VALUE SPEED?
HAVE FUN IN YOUR FASTER THAN A 599 Z07 WITH YOUR CRAPPY INTERIOR AND UNREMARKABLE STYLING AND THE MYSTIQUE OF A PICKLE WITH WHEELS.
I'LL BE IN MY MARANELLO DRIVING A CLIENT TO DINNER ONE SECOND AND TAKING CORNERS AT 90MPH THE NEXT ALL WHILE GETTING ENVIOUS STARES FROM PEOPLE ON EVERY CORNER...NOT GONNA HAPPEN IN A VETTE.
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Avinash machado 10:55AM (5/18/2007)
People who buy Ferraris are generally brand snobs. So even if a Corvette outperforms a Ferrari they would not buy one. After all saying I drive a Ferrari sounds far more cooler than saying I drive a Chevy at parties does it not?
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Lithous 11:06AM (5/18/2007)
Ah, listen to Mike. He knows how to get attention and is very classy. One can tell from his excessive use of cap lock.
Mike, what race have you won with your 90mph cornering? Surely all those 90mph corners you've taken has prepared you for something (other than the potential to kill a pedestrian walking onto the street of course).
HI I'M LOW CLASS MIKE WITH MY MARANELLO. I'M TOO BUSY LOOKING AT MY CAR TO NOTICE THE CAP LOCKS ARE ON. ALL I CARE ABOUT IS PEOPLE LOOKING AT ME IN MY CAR BECAUSE I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING SPECIAL FOR THEM TO LOOK AT ME. I HAVE (OR WANT PEOPLE TO THINK I HAVE) MORE MONEY THAN BRAINS. YES, I AM TOO DUMB TO REALIZE THAT A VEHICLE $100K LESS THAN ANOTHER COULD REALLY BUY ONE HELL OF A SPECIAL CUSTOM INTERIOR TO COMPENSATE. SEE YOU LATER GUYS, I HAVE TO GO PICK UP A CLIENT AND THEN DO SOME CORNING. GOSH MY DAY IS SO EXTRAORDINARY.
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Lithous 11:07AM (5/18/2007)
Ah, listen to Mike. He knows how to get attention and is very classy. One can tell from his excessive use of cap lock.
Mike, what race have you won with your 90mph cornering? Surely all those 90mph corners you've taken has prepared you for something (other than the potential to kill a pedestrian walking onto the street of course).
HI I'M LOW CLASS MIKE WITH MY MARANELLO. I'M TOO BUSY LOOKING AT MY CAR TO NOTICE THE CAP LOCKS ARE ON. ALL I CARE ABOUT IS PEOPLE LOOKING AT ME IN MY CAR BECAUSE I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING SPECIAL FOR THEM TO LOOK AT ME. I HAVE (OR WANT PEOPLE TO THINK I HAVE) MORE MONEY THAN BRAINS. YES, I AM TOO DUMB TO REALIZE THAT A VEHICLE $100K LESS THAN ANOTHER COULD REALLY BUY ONE HELL OF A SPECIAL CUSTOM INTERIOR TO COMPENSATE. SEE YOU LATER GUYS, I HAVE TO GO PICK UP A CLIENT AND THEN DO SOME CORNING. GOSH MY DAY IS SO EXTRAORDINARY.
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Lithous 11:09AM (5/18/2007)
That is autoblog's hickup that makes posts not show up the first time sometimes until you repost.
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61belair 11:17AM (5/18/2007)
If a Ferrari can't beat a car with "Leaf Springs" then I would say Ferrari is priced well beyond its capabilities.
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brimg87 11:41AM (5/18/2007)
#9, Medieval engines? How about reliable, fast, race winning, 30 MPG highway engines? Complexity doesn't mean superiority.
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Brian 1:16PM (5/18/2007)
Some people always think that every car is a luxury car. The reason why the vette doesn't have a high tech luxury interior is too keep the price down. Ever hear "you get what you pay for." A good friend of mine with a BMW is always bashing cars like Toyotas, Chevys, Hondas, ETC for their interior. Your only going to get so much when you buy one of those. When I think of those companys, I don't think luxury.
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Peter 2:16PM (5/18/2007)
FWIW the Z06 just got a rave review from German sport auto mag (esp. considering they're traditionally die hard Porsche fanatics). The laptimes they got were 1.11,7 in Hockenheim and 7.49 on the Nürburgring, more than enough to embarrass a Ferrari F430, which managed 1.12,7 and 7.55...
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