beachfrontvette

...thinking about next car within six months or so...
have been vet owner for yrs and currently have '08 z51 coupe

what are options? BMW, jag, mercedes. audi... not sure a c7 is worth waiting for.

A friend bought the cad cts-v coupe and this is quite an impressive machine... has a vet turbo charged engine 550 hp. Looks great, sounds great, impressive performance and better interior than the vet.

So what is a good high spirited car for less than 80K????

MisterMidlifeCrisis

In my bucket list is to own a German sports car (BMW - already done that), an American sports car (my current Corvette), and an Italian sports car (will do that at some point down the road), then do them all again.

If you haven't done one of the other cars you've listed, you really don't know what you might be missing, which might be nothing in your estimation, or it may be a lot. For me, the only way to find out was to own one of each.

Have fun!

brettbolt

Have you considered renting one of your candidate purchases before you buy?

Thats what I did before I bought my C6. Effectively, it was a 3 day test drive.

I rented a Hertz Corvette ZHZ. After that, I not only knew that I had to have a C6, but also what options I wanted.

beachfrontvette

Well, I have owned bmws, alfas, fiats, jags, MGB, triumph (both tr6 and bike), and many other cars, including American muscle cars...

question is... what is a viable sports muscle machine without spending over 100K???

MisterMidlifeCrisis

CTS-V
GT-R
Cayman R
TT-RS

JerriVette

I d strongly recommend the CTS V coupe.

Near equal Vette performance. , show car looks and more luxury.

Healthy fit doesn't matter. Getting in and out of the CTS V is easier.

Ride is taut and well controlled yet won't beat a driver up on rough roads.

No hatchback harmonics in CTS V coupe

Kreuzen

I"ve been looking at the V... impressive car. I currently own an '09 CTS, but would like to step-up to the CTS-V, Coupe. Unfortunately, right now GM isn't really offering much in the way of incentives for the 2012's... properly equipped (Recaro seats, etc) comes in around 73K. Decisions, decisions...

dvilin

80k and spirited kind of narrows the choices a bit. CTS-V fits but if you are looking for something with a bit of luxury and a small bit of spirit check out the Audi A7. A bit more spirit the Audi TT may do it. The new Lotus might also be something worth checking out.

DonOH

I like the Audi S5 coupe. Inside your price range. Great interior and I even could get into the back seat (6 ft).

C4RACER

How about the E90 M3 coupe? 414hp V8 that revs to 8K and sounds like an F1 motor with a very nice chassis and very comfortable as a DD.

I am contemplating giving up my 07 Z51 which is mostly a DD for me. I may even go backwards in time a bit and get a E46 M3, which is still a great sporty and hard edged DD with a lot more luxury than a C6. I like the C6, but it can be tedious to drive daily during the week. Also I am in sales and I can never drive it when I need to bring a co-worker along to a customer because it's just a bit of an extreme car for getting in and out of in work clothes and parking and the ride isn't so great.

I had a 05 CTS-V sedan, not sure I would go back that direction. Maybe for the wagon variant. But the cars depreciate so fast and hard I just wouldn't want to get into one from new.

widgetsupply

I agree. A couple years agon we were thinking about a Jeep Wrangler. We rented one in Maui and it completely cured that craving. I'm not Jeep bashing, but we have become car snobs. Also, the rental was a LOT worse for the wear but it was a good driving rig.

cclive

Maybe one of the AMG 63s

Mad*Max

don't know the price of the CLS550 in the US but if it is under 80k then I can tell you that it is fun to drive with lots of torque and horsepower - smooth and good handling too - only thing missing is HUD

Vette5.5

You've got to realize that horsepower is only one number of the package equation. C6's are only 3200 lbs and very aerodynamic. CTS-V's are very heavy, well as some of the other cars mentioned. Gonna be a whole nother driving experience, and more frequent stops at the gas pump. As already suggested, maybe get hold of the car in mind for a few days, to see if it's really for you.

jb_va2001

Under $80K... new... you can get a awesome car. Have fun and enjoy the shopping. CTS-V 2 or 4 door looks like a great choice to wait out the C7. The CTS-V Wagon could be fun and unusual. I think you'd also want to drive the Cayman & M3. (At 6'2" they felt almost too small to me. Others really love them.) The 550 is larger than the M3 and still fun to drive. I've owned two 5-Series BMWs, drove each over 100K miles, and didn't want to sell either. Look at the GT-R, 640 & XK if you decide to stretch to spend a bit more. I think the XK looks gorgeous. The new M5 is getting rave reviews but will be expensive. I haven't seen the MSRP yet but would guess it pushes $95K. I've heard too many MB owners complaining about reliability/technical issues so I'm not up on what they have now.

Some here seem to think Corvette only competes with the 2 door/2 seat sports car configuration. Between $45K and >$130K, the Corvette actually competes with a huge range of luxury touring, sporty & sports cars. The competition is fierce, and that's a really good thing for the car buyer.

z51vett

Not turbo but supercharged its not the same as zr1 engine.
z51vett

Tour18

I've been thinking about getting a civilized car too. A tricked out CTS V Coupe would be in the running. AMG 63 is pretty high on the list. Maybe an M3...

peter pan

Step it up and get a 458

OnPoint

Wonder if the upcoming ATS will be available in coupe.

JerriVette

The ATS will show tommorow at 6.30 pm on the internet. It will be the turbo 4 and V6 versions of the sedan. The v series sedan will follow as will an ATS V coupe.

Thats the one I have my eye on.

I expect the ATS V coupe will take on the M3 and win on performance and loose in comparison testing for some ridiculous reason. BMW has the automotive media in their back pocket.

Meanwhile the CTS V coupe is a stunning and extremely capable vehicle.

Show car looks and fast as hell. Handlng, braking, acceleration, good looks, luxury ....it does it all.

Buy with confidence.