Autoblog

Click above for our high-res ZR1 burnout gallery!

Car and Driver recently strapped its test gear to the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and, as expected, recorded some impressive numbers. All eyes have been on the supercar Vette as it enters the boxing ring to duke it out with the heavy-hitting Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, Nissan GT-R and Porsche GT2 (among others), and it looks like the latest Corvette will more than hold its own. According to C&D's trusty electronic gear, the supercharged 638-hp beast knocked off a 0-60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds as it continued towards a blistering 7.6 second 0-100 mph run. The quarter mile was cracked in 11.5 seconds @ 128 mph (Chevrolet claims 11.3 seconds, but the guys at C&D didn't believe in "...that sort of drivetrain abuse" to get lower numbers). The top speed also remains unverified as the team "ran out of room" before they could hit the claimed 205 mph. Under braking, the ZR1 set a new C&D record as it hauled itself down from 70 mph in just 142 feet. Of course, we must mention the obligatory claimed Nürburgring lap time of 7:26 (at the hands of Chevrolet). So you don't have to Google the competition's best-claimed Ring times yourself, here they are: Porsche GT2 - 7:32, Nissan GT-R - 7:29, and the Dodge Viper ACR - 7:22. Of course, we'd like to see all four on the track under identical conditions, and with some digital timing gear!

[Source: Car and Driver]

About two weeks ago, I did something that many of my colleagues (and likely some of you) have done over the past few years: I tossed out over a decade's worth of buff books. There were plenty of reasons for the mass trashing of countless copies of random car mags – namely an apartment redesign – but the primary reason they met their demise at the bottom of an overstuffed recycle bin was simply because I just don't read them as much as I used to. Time and these, the great interwebs have conspired against them, and until someone produces a high-quality, high-gloss magazine to rival the likes of Car and EVO (without the overseas charges), I'm just not willing to expel the time, effort and expense to allow them to amass under my coffee table, unread and neglected.

So earlier this year, when I caught wind of a new magazine due out in August, I approached it with a little trepidation – until we received a tip from its editor. One line in the short email stuck out with me, just because it was so true: "Do you even read car magazines anymore?" The answer for me was, "barely." So I checked out the website, read over some of the features and visited semi-frequently. After a few trips back and forth, I thought I'd bite the bullet and subscribe, if for no other reason than because I'd let nearly all the others lapse. So when I got the mail last Saturday, I was greeted with a heavy envelope that was promptly torn open to reveal the inaugural issue of 0-60. Could this be what I was waiting for? Could this be the Stateside EVO that I'd always dreamed of? Could it possibly live up to the lofty ideals I'd set for it? The short answers are: Yes, maybe, and that's probably not possible.

0-60 time is the gold standard in automotive performance. It's the first thing an enthusiast looks at when presented with a car's stats, and typically trumps all others. Top speed is all but completely irrelevant in most cases, while the quarter mile is only valued in drag-racing circles. Attempts have been made to substitute something more all-encompassing, like the 0-100-0 acceleration/braking test, but it hasn't replaced the old 0-60. Lap times around a given course might be more useful for comparison, but unless every manufacturer tested on the same track, that falls to pieces. At the end of the day, 0-60 is where it's at, but as Forbes points out, it's not the most reliable or useful performance indicator.

In most cases, it takes ideal conditions – including a professional driver – to hit sixty in the time specified. As a result, some manufacturers quote conservative figures so as not to disappoint customers who can't manage the quoted time. Further confusing the situation, some automakers prefer to quote acceleration time in kilometers, but while the 0-100 km/h (62mph) standard might be very close to the mark, in acceleration times every millisecond counts.

It may be the gold standard, but even gold has its imperfections.

[Source: Forbes Autos]